To Heal a Broken Heart
by Tishannia
Summary: An unexpected situation arises and two very different people find themselves pushed together. Willingly or unwillingly? [ Rufus & Tifa, multichap., COMPLETE ]
1. Changes

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter One - Changes_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

_A broken home._

_A broken life._

That was all Tifa had anymore.

She felt the familiar nip of tears in her eyes and she had to stop her excessive cleaning of the bar to close her eyes and take a minute to regain herself. Tears had never helped her before. They wouldn't now. She had children to look after and she had a bar to clean. She lowered her eyes to the floor.

It was amazing how fast things could change when someone walked out of your life.

For good? She couldn't say.

Cloud; he'd left a few days ago, saying he needed to take care of something. Tifa knew what he meant by that.

Aerith.

Tifa could feel no animosity towards the flower girl; she was her best friend. She'd never done anything to intentionally hurt Tifa when it had come to Cloud. She'd been open with her feelings, but how could Tifa blame her? She knew well enough that you couldn't deny your feelings for someone. Some people were just more forward with it, like Aerith.

No, Cloud was so caught up in his... whatever it was that he was feeling. He hardly came home anymore. He never returned her calls, he stayed over at many of their friends' houses... Tifa shook her head and began to scrub ferociously at the counter.

The tears were returning and this time, Tifa couldn't stop them. She let out a quiet sob of anguish and slid to the floor. She covered her eyes with her hand and shook her head furiously.

Why was she like this!

Cloud... This needed to stop.

She needed to stop. She needed to move on, that much was clear. It was so hard, though, to think of leaving him. He'd been her stronghold for the longest time before he'd been infected with Geostigma. After he'd been cured and Avalanche went back to their daily lives, he been happier then usual. Then, suddenly, he fell into a depressive state, similar to the one he'd gone through before.

She couldn't believe... How much he'd changed.

He had to go and blow it all, didn't he? Typical Cloud.

"Tifa...?"

Tifa's head shot up and at seeing the confused and worried look on Marlene's face, Tifa shook her head clear and stood quickly, brushing herself off and trying to discreetly dry her tears. Marlene noticed though, to her dismay, and questioned her further.

"Tifa, why are you crying?" Marlene asked, a look of pure innocence on her face. Tifa couldn't help but smile. She knelt down to her eye level and winked. "It's nothing, Marlene. I just miss my friend's a lot." She said and stood.

"Are you sure...?" Marlene asked, a bit of disbelief lacing her voice.

Tifa turned to her and smiled in reassurance. Marlene smiled and nodded. Tifa laughed. "Alright. How about you go and find Denzel and tell him to get ready so we can go for a walk around Midgar. Perhaps we might just accidentally pass the ice cream shop on the way."

Marlene's face lit up at that. "Really?"

Tifa nodded. Marlene turned quickly and scampered up the stairs, calling out Denzel's name.

Tifa scolded herself silently for letting herself be found by Marlene. She was too intuitive and knowing for her own good and Tifa knew she'd piece everything together on her own. She sighed and threw the cloth into the sink. She gazed at the dusty window in front of her and couldn't help but feel a certain longing to be out there.

She missed traveling. Seeing the world, meeting the people.

Avalanche had become something of a celebrity group -- they were known all over the world and called in for various different things. Exterminations, moving, building... You name it. The other's were called in more due to the fact that many were aware of her situation; living at home with the children, working to make some extra money.

Or all now.

She felt her first ever inkling of anger towards Cloud. How could he do this to her? They'd agreed to do this together, to help each other! Now he'd left her all alone!

Tifa flexed her hands subconsciously. How she needed to vent that anger on someone... Something.

"Tifaaaa!" Marlene and Denzel called simultaneously. Tifa turned towards them and her anger vanished; it was funny how that happened.

"Ready to leave?" She asked as cheerfully as she could.

"Yep!" Denzel said. She loved how perked up they got at something so simple as a walk through the streets of Midgar. She could never understand why, until she'd overheard a conversation between the two of them.

_"Do you... think we'll be here forever?" Marlene asked Denzel, something like longing passing over her features. _

_Denzel shook his head. "I don't know... Tifa and Cloud never talk about it..."_

It was then she realized they disliked living in the city. Tifa had talked to Cloud about it but he'd brushed her off with a, 'they'll learn to love it.' Tifa had felt so guilty ever since that day; she wanted them to be happy. She knew this was hardly the place she'd want to grow up in. Something more like Costa or Cosmo Canyon would be better, she thought.

One day, she would do it, hard as it would be.

She'd pack up and leave the bar, with both the kids. With or without Cloud.

With or without telling him.

"Tifa, let's go!" Denzel cried impatiently, stamping his foot. Tifa started and Denzel looked at her sheepishly.

"Sorry, I was..." She shook her head and walked toward the door, ushering them out in front of her. They ran out into the packed streets and cried in relief. Tifa had restricted their time outside -- especially without her -- because of the increasing violence in Midgar. She'd been hearing more about murder, rape, gang fights and all other sorts of trouble and she couldn't let them out of her sight for too long before she got worried. She hated to do it, as they lived to play outside with their many friends, but it was too much of a risk.

Then again, would anyone really harm the children of two saviors of the Planet? They had defeated Sephiroth. Surely a small gang or two wouldn't take any trouble.

Cloud had told her that; Tifa hated thinking along those same lines as him, but it was the sore truth.

They hadn't walked very far before they'd come upon the ice cream shop. It was a somewhat dingy and desolate place as many people didn't even know it existed. Tifa only knew because of the children. She walked up with them and got the two what they wanted before they all sat down at one of the benches nearby. Tifa laid her head in her hands and looked up at the sky.

How things had changed. Before now, you wouldn't have been able to see the sky. The children never knew what it looked like, day or night, until now.

"Tifa." Marlene popped up in front of her and Tifa couldn't help but look at her uninterestedly; Marlene hated it and she knew it, but it always seemed to make her happy that she was teasing her. Tifa couldn't say why, but it didn't really matter. The fact that she was happy was enough for her.

"Sorry." Marlene grinned. Her face fell then and Tifa looked at her questioningly. "When is daddy coming home?" She asked in a small voice.

Tifa sighed. When _was_ the last time she'd seen Barret? "I don't know, sweetie. I'll see if I can give him a call today and maybe you could talk to him?"

Marlene didn't look particularly happy with that but she said no more about it. Instead, she switched the topic to a rather sore subject. "Can we go and see the flower lady's church?"

"Yeah. We can go see Aerith's church." Tifa said, sighing lightly and raising her eyes to the sky.

Marlene smiled and jumped up, pulling Denzel off the bench. "Let's go Denzel!"

Tifa called out to them when they ran too far ahead, but either they chose to ignore her or they hadn't heard her. She turned back to the seller of the ice cream and thanked him before hurrying after them. She couldn't ignore the state of everything around her as she walked. Some people had it so much harder then her, but she couldn't help the way she was feeling. She was flawed -- they all were. Few people seemed to realize that though.

Children who had been abandoned by their parents due to lack of money, food, patience and every other poor excuse there was lay outside in the searing sunlight. They had few possessions and they looked really roughed up. Tifa had to avert her gaze; how disgusting. To give up a child for such a reason; it was unthinkable. They would be better off in a home with no food then outside with no food.

Did anybody care for danger anymore?

Maybe this was Tifa's experienced side showing through. She knew what it was like to face a great danger. She pulled through many times, but it always left a scar on her view of life.

She walked around a corner and froze at the sight that met her.

Marlene and Denzel were surrounded and being talked to by three frenzied adults. She couldn't see their faces -- they were hidden entirely by clothing, but Tifa narrowed her eyes and ran over to them. She wasn't about to attack them, knowing it could be a group of perfectly friendly elders, but she also wasn't going to give them to upper hand should they be dangerous.

Quicker then she could expect however, the closest one to her as she neared them grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, causing her to cry out in alarm and slight discomfort. Most of the people around them scattered, not wishing to face whatever it was that was happening and that seemed to make whoever was holding her -- a man, from what she could tell, loosen his hold on her. She took advantage of the situation and threw a well aimed punch at her holder and he let go of her with a very... familiar cry.

"Fuck, Tifa!"

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Reno?" She listened in total amusement at his mutterings before turning to the other two. She knew who they were now and discerned each of them by their figures. She walked up to the smallest of the two and went to lift the hood up off her head but she gasped and grabbed hold of it, keeping it in place.

"Tifa, no, we can't!" Elena whispered furiously, looking around them nervously.

"Why are you three dressed like this?" She asked, turning to Reno when his string of curses had yet to cease. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry Reno."

"God damn, woman. Fucking sexy as hell but --"

Tifa gave him a warning look and he trailed off, kicking at the pavement beneath him.

"Elena?"

"We uh... Well, we aren't exactly liked by many... All, actually, of these people so we're just... Trying to keep a low profile. We needed to find you though, we need your help! So we had to disguise ourselves." She chattered onward, looking around and around again and again before Rude laid a hand on her shoulder. She sighed and shrugged him off with a look that clearly said she got the point.

"Oh. Why did you need to find me?" Tifa asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced at the two waiting children; they were listening in on the conversation intently.

"We uh... Uh..." Elena began to chatter away nervously again about nothing in particular until Rude finally stepped in.

"We need a favor." Rude said solemnly, as per usual.

Now Tifa put up her guard. She leaned backwards, her hands on her hips and looked between the three of them. "What kind of favor...?"

"There's really no time to explain." Elena said hurriedly and with that, she turned around and walked off. Tifa was about to say something when she felt Reno and Rude taking her by the arms and pulling her forward, following after their younger companion.

"H-hey?" Tifa cried out.

She could only listen in a strange sort of horror and confusion as Reno called the kids to follow after them, which they only listened to when Tifa told them to just follow.

The truth of the matter was, she couldn't free herself. Reno and Rude had both gotten stronger.

'Unbelievable.' She thought to herself, inwardly imagining all the possible reasons the Turks might want a favor from her. She had to stop after a few horrid mental images and unwelcome thoughts entered her mind.

Resigned, she slumped slightly in their hold and just gave in. After a while however, Tifa began to wonder. They were heading towards Healin.

'What's at Healin?' She thought miserably, looking over her shoulder to make sure the kids were still following. They were, to her relief and yet did she really want them to get mixed up in one of the Turks' crazy schemes? Certainly not, but she couldn't just leave them on their own.

They walked through the door of the crumbling building and Reno and Rude released her before walking back out the door towards the city they'd just come from. Elena stood in the entranceway and apologized. Tifa waited for the verdict and was horrified once she knew what it was.

"I... We... Need you to look after the president. We have some business to attend to elsewhere and, well, in his condition we can't exactly leave him here alone."

"Wait a minute! You can't be serious! I have a job, I have children to take care of, I have --" Tifa cut herself short and lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Nothing to go back to. Nothing worth it, anyway." Elena said, taking one of Tifa's hands in her own to let her know she had someone to talk to. Tifa felt strangely comforted by this.

"I..." Tifa whispered. "I... You're right. I don't have anything to go back to."

Elena gave her a sympathetic look. "Look... We won't be long."

She turned and walked out the door. Tifa only heard two more words from Elena before she was gone.

_"I'm sorry."_

"I'm sorry..." Tifa repeated, shaking with anger. She clenched her fists. "Sorry is all I ever seem to _get_!" She yelled, punching the wall in rage. She paid no heed to the shocked gasps coming from Marlene and Denzel behind her.

_"I'm sorry, Tif. I'll be back soon." _

_"Sorry."_

_"I didn't... I'm sorry."_

"Cloud... Why?" Tifa whispered loud enough so only she could hear it. A few moments passed as she wallowed in her self pity before she heard anyone speak up, and when she did, she was hardly looking forward to laying her eyes on the speaker himself.

"Well. We can't have any of that now, can we?" Rufus Shinra said, amused.

* * *


	2. Disbelief

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Two - Disbelief_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Cloud... Why?" Tifa whispered loud enough so only she could hear it. A few moments passed as she wallowed in her self pity before she heard anyone speak up, and when she did, she was hardly looking forward to laying her eyes on the speaker himself.

"Well. We can't have any of that now, can we?" Rufus Shinra said, amused.

Tifa's eyes narrowed. "Rufus." She said with a cold and slightly hollow tone. She noticed that he was still in his wheelchair. After the stunt he'd pulled with Kadaj, jumping off the roof, she'd thought he'd been faking his needing a wheelchair. The scene before her obviously told her it was much different. She couldn't quite understand why he needed it -- it had been years since the destruction of the Shinra building, but she decided to leave it alone.

"I was dragged here by your friends. Any particular reason why you need me here?" Tifa asked, placing her hands on her hips and leaning back.

Rufus smirked and moved his hair out of his face. "I couldn't tell you. They seemed to be worried I might accidentally fall down the stairs." He said lightly, not sounding entirely pleased with the thought.

Tifa tilted her head in surprise. He was acting rather differently; this simply wasn't the man she remembered from before. Warning bells went off in her head, telling her he might be up to something but she pushed the thought out of her mind.

"I remember you." Marlene said, stepping in front of Tifa. "You were the man with Reeve!" She said, her face lighting up.

To Tifa's shock, he smiled down at her. "Indeed I was."

"Are we staying here with you?" Marlene asked, curious eyes probing the man's before her.

Rufus leaned back in his chair and set his eyes on Tifa again. "That's up to Tifa. In the mean time..." He said, starting to turn away from them.

"Don't tell me you're just going to walk -- or shall I say, roll -- away?" Tifa snapped at him, all the anger she'd bore towards him resurfacing.

Both Marlene and Denzel started at the malice in her voice and Marlene even began to back away from her -- she'd seen a different side of Tifa lately and she wasn't accustomed to it, nor did she particularly like it.

Rufus sent her a dry look. "I didn't ask for you to be here."

Tifa resented that part of her that refused to leave anyone who might possibly need her help. It was a constant in her head right now, despite the fact that this was _Rufus Shinra_. The man who'd tried to kill her and her friends and the man who was all too ready to execute her and Barret. "I'm not one to ignore a friend's request."

"Then do as you will." Rufus said, turning and wheeling away. Tifa felt the nip of tears in her eyes and brushed furiously at them, breathing deeply. She was always so easily brushed aside and she hated the helpless and worthless feelings she was left with. She turned to the children and like a sheet of water, guilt fell heavily over her.

"I'm sorry. Both of you." She said, eying Marlene in particular. She almost looked like she was shielding herself.

Tifa scolded herself for losing it in front of them before Rufus had blessed them with his presence. The last thing they needed was to know she and Cloud were having difficulties.

"Why don't you and Cloud talk anymore, Tifa?" Marlene asked with a small voice.

Tifa sighed and knelt down in front of both of them. "Things are rough right now, but it'll be okay. We'll be okay."

Something told her to stop right there, to stop lying to both herself and the children.

Yet it felt so good to hear it -- to think and to try and convince herself that they would be alright.

That Cloud... might have a change of heart, a change of attitude.

That she would forgive him and welcome him back with open arms.

"Are we staying here, Tifa?" Marlene asked, putting on the perfect display of childlike innocence and need -- the perfect display Tifa had always had a hard time refusing.

'Should we stay?' Tifa thought, standing with her eyes still fixed on Marlene. 'Should I keep them here, put them through this?'

"Tifa?" Marlene asked again.

Tifa sighed and cursed her kindness to hell. "I guess we will. It's almost time for you two to get to sleep though, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to..." Tifa trailed off. What would they do? _Play_ with Rufus? _Talk_ with Rufus? It seemed so bizarre to have _Rufus_ in the equation, even if only for a few hours, days, however long Elena planned on taking.

Something told her that Marlene liked Rufus immensely though and it wasn't as if he treated her horribly -- the warm smile he'd given Marlene was clear enough.

"I wanna talk to Rufus!" Marlene squealed excitedly. "Maybe he can bring Reeve over, Tifa!" She continued, clapping her hands together.

Tifa simply smiled encouragingly at her. "If that's what you want."

"What if _I_ don't?" Denzel spoke up, looking at Tifa with a scared and betrayed look. Tifa's heart broke at his expression and she moved to hold him but he moved quickly out of her reach. "What if I don't want to stay here, stay here with _him_? Cloud warned us about him."

Tifa frowned. "We have to stay here for now." She shook her head. "And we're going to -- whether you like it or not." It was things like this that discouraged her the most with Denzel. He'd always been attached to Cloud's hip and whenever he wasn't around... He tended to get out of control. His attitude, the way he acted...

The typical behavior of a child.

...It reminded her so much of Cloud.

"I hate you." Denzel said unconvincingly.

Marlene gasped. "Denzel, don't say that!"

"I do." Denzel retaliated, rounding on Marlene.

"Denzel, stop." Tifa said, grabbing his arm. "I know you miss Cloud. I do too, but you can't act out like this. You can't speak like that to Marlene or I." She ended, leaving no room for argument.

Marlene had a sympathetic looked plastered on her face.

"Let's go." Tifa said, motioning for them to follow her up the stairs.

Denzel followed, though reluctantly, dragging his feet. Marlene was slightly happier then he, but Denzel's words seemed to put an end to her happy charade. Upon reaching the stairs, they found Rufus, sitting beside the window. Tifa cleared her throat.

"We'll stay here with you until the Turks get back." Tifa said.

Rufus nodded offhandedly.

"Do you have a room where they can sleep?" She asked, a flicker of annoyance settling in her eyes at his disposition. He finally turned and laid his eyes on them, seemingly mulling the thought over in his head. "They can have the Turks' room. There are three beds there -- consider it completely yours for the time being."

Tifa nodded and thanked him before walking away to the room.

And Tifa's heart was pounding in her head.

The faraway look in his eyes reminded her of her own.

* * *


	3. Nightmares

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Three - Nightmares_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Getting the children to sleep had been no easy task -- not tonight. And perhaps never again. Tifa closed her eyes and breathed deeply, reflecting on everything; the past, the present... What she thought of the future. What she wanted for the future.

Of course, the worst things about memories is the fact that they only remind you of what you once had and can no longer have.

Squeezing her eyes shut tightly she walked steadily over to the large window in the room. She had no idea where Rufus had gone -- and frankly she didn't care. She was here for one thing and one thing only. To help Elena.

Yet something inside her was telling her it was completely different.

She wasn't just here for Elena.

She was here for herself. She'd seen the flicker of emotion in his eyes. It was startlingly familiar to her and she couldn't help but wonder why he would be feeling something like that.

He'd put himself out there years before, loitering around when people were dying. His people. His father had died and he'd given no outward reaction.

He seemed... Happy almost.

Tifa wanted to know. She couldn't explain why if she wanted to. She just...

Wanted to know she wasn't alone, maybe. A tentative thought entered her mind.

Or maybe... She wanted to relate to someone. To talk to someone.

It wasn't easy to talk to all her friends. Their friends. They were all connected and should Cloud ask, they would probably tell him.

A select few, anyway.

She watched as the rain outside fell to the ground. Idly, she thought of how alike she and the rain really were.

No. How alike _Aerith_ and the rain were.

Groaning she covered her eyes with one hand. "Why does everything remind me of you...?" Tifa whispered, looking skywards, eyes now free of her hand.

"You wouldn't be talking to yourself now, would you?"

A flash of annoyance flew through her and she resisted the urge to turn around and quip back at the man she'd already classified as 'insufferable'. Within the minute he was beside her.

"What are you going to do if he comes back?"

Tifa turned and walked away from both him and the window. "How is that your business again?" She asked, fiddling with the fabric of her shirt.

What _would_ she do?

She could see herself running into his arms like the naive woman she was -- and she wondered if she would ever be strong enough to stop herself from doing just that. While he had left, her feelings couldn't be washed away so easily. It would take time; and who knew how much time she had left anymore.

Marlene and Denzel also had to factor into that somehow. She couldn't keep them away from Cloud.

That only made things more difficult.

She wanted to stop thinking, but the thoughts wouldn't stop coming. Despite her attempts to rid him from her mind he was always something she would wonder and think about.

"I don't know." She finally answered, genuine confusion littering her voice. "I... Never really thought about it and things are so complicated."

Rufus simply nodded which only sent her confusion spiraling higher. Rufus would have pushed and pulled before. He would have dug deep and found out your deepest secrets. He was so...

Laid back.

Settled.

Yet there was something about him that gave her the impression that he wasn't the happiest he'd ever been.

But then, had he ever _been_ happy?

She couldn't believe what she was thinking. She couldn't possibly try to give Rufus the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe he really _hadn't_ wanted to hurt all those people.

Maybe he _hadn't_ really wanted to run the company.

Maybe he _had_ had a rough life and that, in some way, influenced the things he did and the decisions he made.

Before she knew what she was saying, the words left her mouth. "Do you regret what you did back then?"

Rufus made no acknowledgment that he had heard her and yet something told her that he would eventually answer.

And he did.

"I suppose so."

Tifa did a double take. He _supposes_ so?

Facing him as calmly as she could, she tried to even her voice out a little and pry just a little. "What do you mean, you suppose so?"

Rufus sent her a dry look. "My life is not some fairy tale, Lockheart." Tifa lowered her eyes and turned to look out the window again. Aerith would know what to do -- hell, Tifa know what she would have done.

She would have believed him, she would have trusted him. It came so easily for her.

She resented that about herself. She could never really decide on anything. She always questioned herself and other people.

She sometimes would have opted to live life following her heart.

But life had a habit of shooting her in the heart.

A very faint sniffle came from the corner of the room and both Tifa and Rufus turned to see Marlene standing there, tears streaming down her face. Tifa frowned and knelt to the ground, holding her arms out. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Marlene was in her arms in an instant and hugging Tifa with all the strength she could muster.

"Marlene?" Tifa asked again after gaining no response. Marlene pulled away slightly and rubbed at her eyes. "I had a nightmare."

Tifa sighed and looked her in the eye, putting her hand on Marlene's cheek in such a motherly way it almost shocked her.

Almost.

"You know they aren't real, honey." She said. Marlene nodded. "Just think of happy thoughts, right?"

"Have you ever had a nightmare?" Marlene questioned.

Tifa smiled and nodded. "They're really scary, but they aren't real. Nothing can hurt you."

Rufus watched silently, something inside of him breaking. He used to be like that. He used to have nightmares.

_'Shinra's never bleed.' _

_'And they most certainly do not cry!'_

"You know," He began, ignoring Tifa's suspicious glance. "I used to have nightmares too."

Marlene turned to him, clearly interested. "Really?"

Rufus nodded. "It helps to talk about it."

Marlene lowered her face to the ground. "I saw daddy."

Tifa tilted her head in confusion. Barret?

"And fire. It was everywhere..."

Tifa's eyes then widened in shock. Rufus sent her a questioning glance but she ignored it for the moment.

"He... He got stuck in the fire and he didn't come back out." Marlene said, crying again.

Tifa pulled her into a hug. "Sweetie, your dad is fine. He's going to come back and see you soon -- there's no fire." She said, all the while wondering what could have possibly brought this on. She had been too young, far too young to remember the fire of Corel. "You can talk to him tomorrow, alright? But morning only comes faster when you go to sleep, right?"

Marlene cheered up a bit at that. She smiled over Tifa's shoulder at Rufus. "Thank you."

Tifa smiled -- she was such a happy one. "Well, let's get to bed. I'll come with you this time, alright?"

Marlene nodded and ran back into the bedroom, making sure to walk quietly when she'd reached the door so she didn't wake Denzel up.

Tifa stopped right at the doorway and gave one final look to Rufus. "Thank you."

Rufus merely nodded.

Yet when Tifa had walked inside and couldn't see him, a small smile graced his lips.

* * *


	4. Callings

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Four - Callings_

Dislcaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She couldn't tell where she was. Everything around her was hazy. She could hear voices whispering words to her... She strained to make out the words, to understand, but she couldn't.

Shadows came closer, mocking her, laughing at her.

"I thought you were stronger, Tifa!" Yuffie smirked. She started to dance away and Tifa tried to call out, tried to reach her but she found she couldn't move.

Replaced by Barret, Yuffie disappeared in a mist of colour. "Ain't ever seen you so wimpy. Where'd the real you go?"

Tifa closed her eyes and tried to block out the noise.

"Tifa?"

Tifa's head snapped up and she saw Cloud, his hand extended, waiting for her to grab it and stand on her own two feet. "We can... Be together." Tifa frowned but reached out anyways. Within the second her arm moved he was moving farther and farther away from her, dissolving into the same colourful mist Yuffie and Barret had.

_"I think I can meet her..."_

_"She's waiting..."_

_'I'm waiting..."_

Tifa woke with a start, breathing deeply. She brought a hand to her head and closed her eyes.

_It was just a dream... Just a dream..._

She was startled when her phone, which was sitting on her dresser, began to ring. Hesitantly, she picked it up and looked at the number on the screen. A wave of relief washed over her as she recognized Elena's number. Pressing the button, she brought the phone up to her ear. "Elena?"

_"Tifa? I'm so glad you picked up--"_ Tifa smiled when she heard a crash. _"Reno! Stop it!"_

_"I didn't do anything you crazy broad!"_

Tifa listened to Elena take a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. _"Tifa, I'm really sorry. I think we're going to take longer then we expected to..."_

Tifa groaned. "Elena..."

_"Trust me, the last thing I want to do is spend any more time with this..."_ She paused. _"Idiot..."_ She finished lamely, sighing.

Tifa couldn't help but smile. "What exactly are you doing, anyway?" She asked, settling herself into a comfortable position on the bed, curling up in her blanket.

_"Something we should not be doing. It's all Reno's fault, actually--"_

_"It is not you bitch!" _

_"RENO!"_ Elena screamed. _"Just shut UP!"_

Tifa chuckled. "Sounds like you are having so much fun!"

_"I wish. Rude isn't exactly helping. Reno is just angry because of something that happened last night. Don't!"_ She added and Tifa could only guess Reno was about to open his mouth again. She could have laughed -- underneath all their fighting and harsh words to each other, the truth was that Reno and Elena were inseparable. All three of them were inseparable of course, but Rude was the one who made sure both Reno and Elena didn't _actually_ kill each other.

It was something Tifa wished she had. She had had that once, but she never felt like she had again.

Sure there was Avalanche, but... How often did they really see each other? Everyone was busy with daily life.

They were a family of their own but things got in the way. Sometimes Tifa wished they could've just stayed somewhere where they could relax and never worry. Together.

They did, after all, save the Planet.

_"Tifaaaa! Where'd you go?"_ Elena sung happily. Tifa instantly wondered what she'd missed while she'd been off in her own little world.

"I'm here. Sorry, I'm thinking about a lot of things." Tifa answered.

_"... Tifa... You're not still thinking about Cloud are you?"_ Elena asked.

Tifa felt a wave of pain flow over her. That really was the reason they hardly saw anyone. Cloud. He never wanted to go anywhere and he always wanted her to stay in Midgar because he'd know where she was at all times.

It was alright for _him_ to go see the others, but not alright for _her_.

She only stayed behind because of the kids, though, not because Cloud said so. She would never fall that hard. They didn't need to be shipped off from one place to the other. It would be a valuable experience but...

"I'm doing better, Elena. Thanks for asking though. How long do you think you'll be gone for?" Tifa questioning, playing with the end of the blanket absently. She was sure she'd made it clear she didn't want to talk about Cloud; Elena wouldn't push.

_"Oh, maybe another two or three days..."_ Elena answered. _"I'm really sorry, again."_

_"Get off the damn phone! We're not doing this alone you--."_ Reno yelled.

_"Reno..."_ Rude intercepted warningly.

"I'll phone you later, alright? Sounds like somebody needs you." Tifa said, chuckling lightly.

_"Yeah, yeah..."_ Elena said. _"I--"_

"Don't. It's alright, I don't mind."

_"Thank youuuu."_ Elena said with gratitude before hanging up.

Tifa let the phone fall with her hand and she lowered her head. Clicking the phone off she threw it to the floor and let out an aggravated sigh.

Nothing would ever be easy again, would it.

"One would think you weren't happy to be here." Rufus said smirking, coming in through the door.

Tifa resisted throwing a comment at him and, though belatedly, realized she was wearing nothing more then her undershirt and underwear. Narrowing her eyes, she shot Rufus a glare that clearly told him what to do.

"I simply couldn't resist -- I've never seen a woman wearing only her undergarments before." He said with a sarcastic touch.

Tifa threw him an equally, if not more sarcastic smile.

He turned his wheelchair around and, just before he left the room, he said, quite casually, "get ready to leave. We're heading for Costa Del Sol."

It was then Tifa noticed that the children weren't in the room with her.

* * *


	5. Departure

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Five - Departure_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"So, why are we leaving again?" Tifa asked yet again. She didn't know why she was asking -- she knew the children had overheard what Rufus had said to her earlier and the truth of the matter was that she couldn't refuse something like this. Not when they wanted, and needed, this so badly.

Deep down, she knew she needed it too.

She needed to get away from this place. It held so many memories and they all seemed to tear her up inside.

She couldn't say she had anything worth remembering anymore.

Because she _couldn't_ remember the happy times -- the worse had overtaken everything else.

"Tifa!"

Turning, their eyes met -- Marlene's ecstatic and Tifa's grief stricken. The child didn't notice and for that Tifa was grateful beyond all else. "What is it?" She asked, putting on a sham of a smile and leaning down to her eye level.

"We're really leaving -- we're going outside?" She asked energetically, clasping her hands together.

Tifa flinched. _Outside_. Is that how she felt? Did she really feel so enclosed?

"Yes." She said quietly, standing. "We're leaving."

"Without Cloud?" Denzel said and Tifa turned her head to look at him. His eyes were narrowed and her heart tore; she wished...

It was no good wishing.

"Without Cloud." She said airily, stepping out of the room.

"Why are we going, did you ask?" Rufus said out of no where, causing her to jump. He smirked and wheeled away from her.

"A little late to be answering, isn't it?" She replied, suddenly taking in his condition. "Wait a minute. How are we getting there?"

"Helicopter." He answered shortly, searching for something.

"Who's flying?"

"I am."

"What?"

"Don't understand English?"

Tifa glared at him and wished his sarcasm would go elsewhere -- she was being completely serious. She didn't need to children in any kind of danger. "Can you fly a helicopter in your..."

A sharp glance.

Clearing her throat she averted her eyes. "Condition."

"Well, I can assure you that I can fly a helicopter--"

She brought her eyes back to rest on his.

"In my condition."

It struck her how much it must have really affected him and changed him to be in a wheelchair. To have your regular life -- even if it weren't such a great one -- swept out from under you feet and to be left needing something that damaged both you and your regular duties...

It must be _hard_.

_Troubling_.

Yes, it was. She knew it was.

* * *

Dust littered his bike and the roads around him. He was flying at an alarming speed, wishing only to be home.

Wishing to get back and tell her how sorry he was.

How much she really meant to him. How he had been so, so...

Wrong.

Skidding, he stopped the bike and pulled out his phone. Dialing the number of '7th Heaven' he raised it to his ear and listening to the dial tone replay over and over again. Frowning he hung up and tried to phone her PHS. With no answer he flung the phone shut and stared down at it for a few minutes.

Why wasn't she answering...?

That _definitely_ was not like her.

Not like Tifa at all.

Starting up again, Cloud pulled his goggles over his eyes and sped onwards.

He was going to see her and explain -- he had to. Whether she wanted to hear it or not.

* * *

She heard her PHS ringing but it didn't really register in her mind until after quite a few rings. Then, when she'd pulled it out of her pocket, it had been thrown out the window by a muttering Rufus. She could only watch in horror as the thing that connected her to all of her friends, her family, was carelessly tossed into the air and fell far out of her reach, never to be seen again.

Rounding on the blond she opened her mouth to speak but he held his hand up in signal to be quiet; in other words, he didn't want to hear it.

"We're going on vacation, Tifa!" Marlene squealed, sitting on her lap and staring out the window. Tifa's stomach fell as she watched Denzel in the mirror, his eyes dark and his body curled in such a way you would think he were protecting himself.

_Cloud..._

_What have you done?_

She felt it like a slap to the face but she took it anyway. No, it wasn't his fault. It was _hers_.

She should have tried harder. Should have done _something_.

She hadn't though and now Denzel was paying the price.

"Yes and we're going to have a lot of fun, aren't we?" Tifa answered, hugging the young girl.

Marlene nodded and looked up at her innocently. "Have you ever been there before? To where we're going?"

Tifa nodded and felt herself liven a bit at the fond memories that particular place brought back. "Yes, yes, I did. I went with Aunty Yuffie too -- and Uncle Cid. They had a fight on the beach you know. They started throwing sand at each other."

"Did you join too?"

"No." Tifa said, shaking her head. Oh how she wished she had. "No, not that time. I was too busy cheering Uncle Cid on."

Marlene gasped. "Aunty Yuffie lost?"

"She sure did!" Tifa nodded, chuckling in mirth. She felt the sudden but familiar sting of tears in her eyes.

She realized something and she wondered how it had never come to her sooner.

It hurt to think it and yet she felt like she needed to say it out loud. Of course, she didn't, but the urge was so strong...

Perhaps the only reason she lived in the past was because that was the only time she'd ever been happy.

* * *


	6. Different

**To Heal A Broken Heart**

_Chapter Six - Different_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Cloud closed his eyes at the wind whipped his hair around and blew softly, which was surprising in itself, over his face. He thought back to the kids and Tifa, how he'd left them back in Midgar. His forehead creased as he frowned; yes, he'd left them there against Tifa's wishes.

He'd known she'd wanted to take the children away from the desolate area but Cloud couldn't bring himself to tell her he agreed.

He was only going away for a while. Just a little while, to find something. Someone.

Aerith.

He hadn't found her though, had he?

He searched and searched, asked around and frequented the Lost Capital but there was no trace. Then why did he feel like she was with him all the time, why did it feel like she was alive?

He knew he was fooling himself. Tifa had said so herself.

_"We checked, Cloud. We checked a pulse. She is and has been dead for the last two years."_

She didn't understand, he decided. She wasn't that close to Aerith anyway.

_"How dare you say that! She was like a sister to me!"_

He'd left in a blind rage that same day and had never called her. Until now.

That made the bubble of worry sitting in his stomach grow. Why the hell wasn't she answering her phone? Did something happen to her? The children?

Did she leave?

"No." Cloud said aloud. "She wouldn't leave."

She would stay for the kids, despite what a hard endeavor that would be alone. Cloud then began to question how he could have ever left her alone in the first place.

He loved Tifa. He did, he'd realized that. He was sure the feeling was reciprocated.

"I hope it's not too late..." Cloud said, angling his bike to round a corner, Midgar coming into view now.

_'Home sweet home,' he thought sarcastically. 'No... We'll leave this place... We don't have to stay here anymore, we won't.'_

Aerith was gone, he knew that now.

There was no reason to keep pushing Tifa away.

And he was so sure she would welcome him with open arms.

* * *

Tifa was beyond glad when Rufus had finally landed the helicopter. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would happen while flying in the contraption and so she's managed to stay quiet the entire time.

She was unnerved by Rufus' constant muttering, however. She was glad the children didn't notice their difficulties; they were so busy looking out the window, watching the passing scenery and observing the different places they'd never been able to go to. Tifa felt her heart warm up at the sight and she was happy.

She was _really_ happy.

"Tifa, can we go to the beach?" Marlene squeaked, sheltering her eyes from the blinding sun. Tifa smiled and laughed at her antics -- they'd never been out in such sunlight before. Midgar, while the plate had been gone, was still a dark place what with the dust particles swimming in the air. Yet some part of her was hesitant.

_What the...?_

"Tifa, pleaseeee?" Marlene said, noticing the look in Tifa's eyes.

"Afraid you won't be able to handle how stunning you'll look in a bathing suit?" Rufus asked, smirking at her while flipping his hair. Marlene broke out into a grin and Tifa couldn't stop the blush from spreading across her cheeks.

Bewildered, she looked down at the ground. Breathing in deeply, she started to inform him of the problem they were facing in regards to going down to the beach when Rufus shoved a card into her hand.

"W-wait a second, I can't take this!" Tifa sputtered, surprised at how he was acting. She held the card out for him to take but he made no movement indicating he wanted it back.

"Three bathing suits are the least of my worries, I assure you." He said, shooting her a striking glance that clearly said that she was going to take it regardless of what she thought.

Tifa looked helplessly at the two beaming children and sighed. "Thank you."

Rufus gave Marlene a smile and made his way over to the villa.

Villa?

What?

Tifa's eyes widened as he went inside with another young man.

_'Didn't Cloud...'_

Shaking her head she chuckled as the children ran off in the direction of the shops, bouncing around and laughing together. She refused to let a certain spiky-headed blond ruin what time she had back here. This time would be even better then the last time though, because she could spend it with the children.

There was one thing she _was_ going to be thinking about, though.

What was the deal with these strange feelings she was suddenly experiencing?

And why did they always occur when Rufus Shinra was around her?

* * *

Cloud parked his bike outside the darkened bar, 7th Heaven. Taking a few light steps up to the door, he hesitated. Would she even be happy to see him?

He'd been gone for so long... Left her with no help. No money, no food...

Nothing.

Cloud's guilt and shame fell over him; what kind of a person was he? This was how he repaid Tifa for everything she'd done for him?

She'd brought him back from the Lifestream and had reconstructed his entire life.

Not bothering to knock, he pushed the door open. "Tifa?"

Silence.

He stepped inside and shut the door quietly. He couldn't imagine he being asleep at this time but then again, how would he know? He managed to find the way to get behind the bar in the dark and walked up the stairs trying to make as little noise as possible.

_"Cloud!" Tifa yelled, throwing a pillow at him when he'd opened the door to find her wrapped in only a towel._

Remembering that day he slipped the door open a crack. Hearing nothing and seeing nothing, he opened it fully.

No Tifa.

Walking over to the children's room he checked inside and once again found nothing. Nobody.

"Tif?" He called out, panic starting to race through them. What had happened? Where did they go?

Why was nobody here?

* * *


	7. Pieces

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Seven - Pieces_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Tifa smiled contentedly as the last bit of sunlight washed over her. The children were still splashing in the water, laughing and rejoicing at the sudden yet enjoyable change; she found herself wondering how they could stand to stay in the water for so long but she left them to it. Having them happy for once, genuinely happy, was enough for her.

She had been cross examining the feelings that had been rushing through her all day and realized what they were and why she was feeling them. Throughout her life she'd always wanted to know people, the simple facts and things to look out for.

With Rufus, it was an entirely different story.

She wanted to really _know_ him.

She wanted to know why the look in his eyes matched hers, she wanted to know why he'd done what he had done before and why he'd changed so suddenly. Why wasn't he rebuilding his company? Why wasn't he trying to make a life for himself?

He was finally **free**, right?

What was holding him back?

The similarity of their situations didn't really shock her -- she'd always tried to see the best in him before regardless of his actions and how wrong she thought he was. Even back in the days of the fight with Shinra and Sephiroth she'd noticed things about him that sometimes, others didn't.

They'd both lost a lot as children -- their homes, their parents.

She knew they both had run with a life they'd never really wanted or expected.

But then again, maybe there wasn't anything to find. Maybe he was just as shallow as before but had no means to rebuild the company, nobody to follow him save for the Turks.

Tifa mulled the thoughts over in her head while absently watching the sun set. She smiled at the memories of Costa before. The group had lounged about and talking, relaxed, gotten closer and closer until they were a close knit family.

Even throughout all the challenges and the personal quarrels, they'd stayed together.

Her face fell; they _used_ to have that.

Now they hardly saw each other. She couldn't blame anyone -- they all had busy lives. Sometimes she just wished things were different.

Maybe that was because she thought Cloud would still be around if they'd all stayed together.

She shook her head. Cloud. It was almost laughable to her right now, how she'd been so foolishly infatuated with him. She wished she could just forget and destroy all those happier memories that kept her tied to the past.

"You never really cared, did you?" Tifa said quietly, staring skyward. "Take care of him, wherever he is, Aerith. I don't think I can continue on like this." She smiled to herself and felt silly -- talking to the air? She knew though, that Aerith could hear her and was watching her.

She closed her eyes and sighed, opening them again to find the children walking back to her slowly, their cheeks rosy and their breathing labored.

"Having fun?" Tifa asked warmly, moving aside so they could settle down beside her.

Marlene nodded enthusiastically but she noticed Denzel had fallen quiet. She gave him a worried glance; he wasn't still mad at her, was he? She hadn't really believe in what he'd said earlier but now with a sinking heart, she wondered if he'd really been venting. Venting a truth. "Something wrong, Denzel?"

He looked up quickly before lowering his eyes. "I..." Marlene grasped his hand in a show of support. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier...I didn't mean it." He looked up sadly and she could tell her wanted forgiveness badly.

She smiled and winked. "Don't worry about it. I know it's tough..." She looked skyward again. "We'll get through it... And Cloud will be alright." She ruffled Denzel's hair and he smiled sheepishly.

"Tifa, how long are we staying here?" Marlene asked, leaning against the older woman.

"I don't know. You should ask Rufus -- this was his idea after all." Tifa said and then for the first time, she wondered why he wasn't here with them. What was he doing?

Did she really want to know?

"I'm going to!" Marlene said, standing abruptly.

"Go with her Denzel -- both of you get dried up and into some clean clothing." Tifa added, eying them. "We'll probably come back here tomorrow."

"Aren't you coming?" Denzel asked. "And we don't have any clothes." He added uncomfortably.

Tifa smiled but her stomach dropped. "I picked up some new clothes for you too." At their skeptical glances she winked. "In secret. But make sure you thank Rufus, because he's the one who paid for it." She felt herself fall even lower into the pit of shame.

They both nodded and ran off, up the steps and towards the villa. Tifa sighed.

"This is your fault, Cloud." Tifa grit out, tears pricking her eyes. "Everything is your fault."

My children don't have clothes because of you.

I can't buy them anything because I don't make sufficient money.

You truly left me with nothing.

* * *

Rufus looked at the door when it swung open, the bell ringing lightly. The innkeeper he was speaking to smiled at the two children who walked in -- Marlene and Denzel. Rufus frowned, where was Tifa?

His question was answered by the young girl. She hugged his leg and looked up at him innocently. "Tifa is at the beach still. Thank you for the bathing suit and new clothes!"

Denzel nodded in agreement, giving Rufus a small smile.

Rufus smiled back at both of them -- strange how it felt so normal for him. He really did like these two. "Why did Tifa stay back?" He asked, flipping his hair.

Marlene looked at the ground. "She seemed really sad."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She always seems sad since Cloud left." Marlene looked up at him hopefully. "You're not going to leave her alone, are you? Not like Cloud."

Rufus shook his head no and after Marlene told him their reason for returning, he ushered them off and left with the innkeeper's promise to look after them. He slowly made his way down to the beach, reveling in the last warmth of the night. He found what he was looking for as soon as he hit the sand. Knowing his wheelchair would never make it over the soft brown layers, he stood and walked over slowly; he was still unsure of himself and his condition after Geostigma.

She was gazing into the flowing colors of pink and orange, a steady yet light breeze blowing at her bangs. The palm trees were slowly fading into the darkness, silhouettes of their true form and the water was sweeping gently ever closer to Tifa's form. She didn't seem to care though and Rufus soon knew why -- tears were in her eyes.

He tried to ignore them and when he stepped up beside her, he felt her eyes on him.

"Why are you here?" She asked quietly, sitting up.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said, swallowing. He was somewhat uncomfortable around her, he noticed. He wondered why.

"I had to think." She said, all tension and animosity usually littering her voice in their previous conversations gone. "I haven't been a great mother lately..." She continued easily. Her emotions were running high and she knew she needed to get it out. Speaking to thin air wasn't doing her much good and she couldn't exactly phone anyone. She chuckled. "Hell, I haven't been the greatest _person_ lately."

"I'm sure you're going through a lot." Rufus said, not knowing why he was trying to help her. Maybe he thought if he did that for someone, someone might do that for him. Foolish, he admonished. How could he even think that?

"He left me with nothing, you know. Not a single thing. I can't make enough money to buy clothing for my children -- the most they get is maybe an ice cream once a week." She said, anger entering her voice. "I can do better then that for them, I know I can!"

He stayed silent.

"Why the hell am I so hung up over that him? Why am I so in love with him?" There, she thought, she admitted it. "What's he ever done for _me_? I'm so tired of waiting." She felt the familiar sting of tears and her voiced became quiet again. "I'm so tired of everything... He takes me when he wants me and then throws me away when he doesn't. Why did I ever..." She shook her head and lowered her eyes.

"Fools can't help themselves." He said suddenly.

Tifa looked around and up at him -- his face was set in stone and he'd gone back to hiding. She instantly came back to herself and realized what she'd just done, what she'd just told him. Jumping up, she took a few steps away from him.

"I... We should probably get back now." She said quickly, turning and walking away.

Rufus stared after her for a moment before following.

Yes, fools can't help themselves, he thought. He knew better than anyone.

* * *


	8. Vulnerable

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Eight - Vulnerable_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

What is _wrong_ with me?

The unusually cold wind was whipping at her face and she had to narrow her eyes. Maybe it wasn't cold at all; maybe it was just her and how she was feeling at that moment.

Empty.

"Why didn't I ever tell Cloud those things?" She asked herself in silent despair.

Why did she tell him, of all people? Rufus Shinra.

She couldn't help but look back over her shoulder as she thought of him. He was back in his wheelchair and following slowly behind her, keeping a reasonable distance between them. A slight confusion rushed into her. Why did he get out of his wheelchair? Why hadn't he told her that he didn't really need it?

She scoffed at her foolishness, a bitter smile gracing her lips. How was it any of her business?

She raised her eyes and scanned the sky. The beautiful sunset she'd just been laying under, the warmth and spray of gorgeous colours that had painted the beach suddenly look cold and so far away.

She composed herself and turned around, walking into the villa she'd only just reached.

Walking inside, she found the two children, smiling as they watched the TV. Their eyes sparkled and she thought the looked genuinely happy; how could she ever take them away from something like that?

She seemed to zone in on Marlene completely. She had been like that once -- so full of life, so stubborn and naive.

What the hell had happened?

Would she ever be happy again?

She had to avert her gaze as the fears that has always harbored inside of her before now returned, needling into her.

"Tifa!"

Her expressionless eyes laid themselves to rest on Marlene's peaceful face. A flash of emotion and then there was nothing. "Where's Rufus? Didn't he find you?"

"Yes, he did." She muttered.

Marlene shot her a skeptical look before returning to the glowing TV, trying hard to ignore Tifa's sadness. She'd never liked seeing other people down in the dumps before. Tifa was no exception.

It was then that Tifa really looked at where they were staying. Sure, she'd been here before with Cloud as potential buyers, but she'd never really thought of the place as significant.

Maybe she thought it was now because she wanted to keep the children here forever. Anything to make those smiles stay where they belonged.

There were various windows, letting in the last bits of sunlight and giving the viewer a truly spectacular view. The curtains only added to it and she found herself liking the styles of furniture and tidbits layered around the large room; a blend of warm colours paired with complex landscape drawings and funky designs.

Funky. Hadn't someone said this place was exactly that?

Yuffie.

Tifa smiled and wished she could see her. She needed to talk to her, she needed her; her best friend, her sister.

The door opened with the smallest creak, but Tifa heard it and she was immediately pulled out of her thoughts and annoyed.

"Stomping off shows great maturity, I must say."

She closed her eyes and tried to block out his voice. She could almost imagine the smug smirk on his face.

Silence.

"Letting it out might do you good in the future."

"What the hell do you know?" Tifa retaliated. The last stroke.

"A lot more then you may realize." Rufus replied, his voice harsh and sure. She had the distinct feeling he'd been holding this all in out on the beach. "You're not the only one with problems."

Cloud.

"You think I don't know that?" Tifa asked, her voice breaking in the slightest. "I tried to help them, I tried to help him." She went on and she saw out of the corner of her eye, Marlene and Denzel watching the exchange with piqued curiosity.

She closed her eyes when she saw Aerith, Yuffie, Barret, all laughing in her mind.

She _had_ helped them.

Why was she so damn _bitter_?

"I did help them. Look where it's gotten me?"

Selfishness never did play in.

"Maybe I should have been taking better care of myself." She said, sighing and turning away from him.

God, she was rambling again. Why was everything so complicated?

She heard the rustling of fabric and soft footsteps. Before she knew what was happening he was standing behind her, his arm resting on her forearm and his hot breath on her neck. "You're not alone -- you never have been." He all but breathed into her ear.

He was gone almost as quickly as he'd been there.

She noticed her heart was beating faster then it should have been.

What was that...?

She raised a hand to her head as Rufus made his way into his room and shut the door. She almost felt light-headed.

...I'm not alone?

Her feelings were spinning out of control as she tried to absorb whatever it was she was feeling. She was sure she'd felt this way before and she was sure she knew with whom, but it had never felt so strong.

She raised her eyes to the roof and stumbled back rather ungracefully. "I'm going out for a while you two -- get back to bed if I'm not back in a bit, alright?" She said and was glad to find her voice was still steady despite what she felt.

Marlene and Denzel's worried gazes were too much to bear and she rushed out the door. She stopped just outside and let her hand rest on the doorknob, trying to refocus.

I really need to relax...

She looked around at several of the buildings, reading the signs and trying to decide what to do to get her mind off of her current situation.

She finally laid her eyes to rest on one particular building and strode forward.

Nothing could work better.

* * *

Laying on the soft bed in his fair sized room, Rufus sighed. If there was one person he thought was a challenge, it was going to have to be Tifa. She was stubborn yet quiet, only outspoken if provoked and she had a whole network of feelings churning deep inside of her. Her admired her, secretly, for everything she'd ever done. Dealing with the losses she had, her hometown, parents, friends and then to go on and face all the hardships of a failing relationship and saving the world... She was heavily relied on and he couldn't imagine how she must feel.

In this case, admiration could be tricky.

Not only was she all those things, but she was a compassionate woman.

She'd called herself bitter and yet he couldn't see anything pointing to such a thing.

_You've always been able to hide it._

He flinched as the thought raced through him.

She was emotionally scarred, he thought, and damn good at hiding it.

So was he.

Was that why he felt like he could be so open towards her? It took a lot of self control not to, but he'd been able to pull it off so far.

He didn't know what had compelled him to get so close to her minutes before. He didn't regret it, he found and he wished he could experience it again.

She was so damn beautiful...

He frowned. Beautiful?

Since when did he find women _beautiful_?

He shook his head and rolled over, closing his eyes and trying to let sleep claim him.

Beautiful?

_No... The way she lives is beautiful... She's gone through so much and come out strong on the other side with so much... That's all it is._

He groaned lightly and justified it further until he was happy.

It was nothing -- absolutely nothing. He forced her from his mind and eventually found himself pondering over what he was going to do next. Financial duties and the like needed to be carried out, of course.

He could hear that annoying little voice in the back of his head asking him who he was kidding the entire time.

* * *


	9. Misleading?

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Nine - Misleading?_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

The slight pitter-pattering of footsteps approaching his door had Rufus raising his arm off his forehead, under which he was contemplating his sanity and how much longer until he actually went insane, and lifting his head to stare at the door inquisitively. Why would someone be coming to his door? The chances of it being Tifa were slim -- he was sure she'd left a while ago. Marlene? Denzel?

"Mr. Rufus?" Marlene's very shy and yet very polite voice made it's way through his door and he sighed. Did he really want to know why she was here?

Deep down, of course, he couldn't deny that the child had managed to worm her way into his life and he actually really did like her -- she was cute and she seemed to genuinely like him. It had been a long time since anyone had done that. Like him, he meant.

_Mother..._

Closing his eyes and forcing the memories out, he finally responded. "What is it, Marlene?"

A silence. "Can I come in?" She asked, her voice brightening. He couldn't suppress the smile that threatened to break out one way or another.

"Yes." He said, sitting up. He had a feeling he knew what this was about...

When she opened the door and walked in, he knew he was right. She was grinning fiercely and she seemed pretty proud of herself.

_Damn me._

"What did you want?" He asked as kindly as he could. She grinned even more, as though she could tell that wasn't how she truly acted. Well, she was right, and he frowned. Marlene seemed to know quite a lot.

"I wanted..." She jumped onto the bed and pulled herself into a sitting position, mimicking Rufus' pose and staring him in the eye. He couldn't help but let the word 'creepy' run through his mind -- he regretted thinking it, of course. But over the years, he'd noticed how she acted and how she managed to know things.

_Rambling, Rufus?_ He thought.

"I wanted to know... Do you like Tifa?" She tilted her head as she said it with genuine curiosity.

"W-what!?" Rufus asked, caught completely off guard. He tried to hold a straight face but found himself unable to and sighed in defeat. Marlene smiled.

"She's been gone a long time." She continued, her expression turning to that of worry.

"Oh?" Rufus asked, glad to be able to change the subject. He tried to focus on something in the room -- the deepening colour of the curtains as the sun continued to fall beneath the ocean, the hula dancing figures on the shelf beside his bed... Eventually, he felt himself become calm again -- except there was a small bubble of worry matching Marlene's own feelings forming in the pit of his stomach. Why?

He couldn't say exactly.

_I... She needs to look after the children. That's why!_

_He could just hear Reno call him an idiot now. Speaking of idiot..._

"Aren't you going to go look for her?" Marlene cut through his thoughts of Reno and the idiotic stunt he'd pulled with his two best friends and he could only stare at the young girl dumbfounded.

"Look for her?" He asked stupidly.

"Yeah, look for her. What if she's hurt?" Marlene persisted.

"I'm sure she's..."

A glare from Marlene.

_I'm sure I'll go looking for her_, Rufus thought, standing up off the bed and walking slowly over to the door. "Where's Denzel?"

"Watching TV." Marlene replied, following Rufus out the door. "Why don't you use your wheelchair anymore?" She watched as he hesitated at the door for only a split second to answer her question before walking outside.

"I don't need it much longer, actually."

She proceeded to make her way over to the sitting Denzel, his eyes glued to the TV, and sat beside him. She nudged him.

"Tifa loves Cloud, right?" She asked him.

Denzel gave a slight nod, too lost in his show.

She sighed. _Maybe... Maybe not._

* * *

Rufus made his way across the warm but turning cold pavement, images of the raven haired woman spinning through his mind. He remembered the way she would smile and with how much grace she would move the previous times she seen her, whether it be in battle or...

Stop it, traitorous mind.

He was only a little shocked at the turn of events -- the sudden turn of his mind and it's...

Thoughts.

He scanned the several buildings in front of him, not knowing exactly which to go into -- where would Tifa go, being in the state that she was? Hurt, degraded...

Bar.

He didn't even need to ask the question. If he was her, that's where he'd go. And if he knew the woman well enough...

Walking inside the building, he wanted to leave almost immediately. It was completely crowded -- there was a musky smell in the air that had him almost cringing. There were half dressed women everywhere whether they be Costa's inhabitants, bar tenders, serving women or... Well, whatever else they could be. A group of men in the back corner were fighting and Rufus grimaced.

Drunkards were disgusting to him -- at least those who could be considered alcoholics.

The sight of the men brought back memories of his father. Alcoholism was the reason his mother was gone. His father had driven her out and she'd been powerless against the man -- she'd had to leave Rufus behind, as his father had refused in giving the boy up to his wife.

She'd left and Rufus had never seen her again.

Rufus shook his head and pushed through the crowd, edging his way over to the bar. He hoped she wasn't here and yet at the same time hoped she was. It would save him some searching...

Sure enough, as he'd finally managed to make it through the loud and energetic group, he saw Tifa smiling in a goofy way, holding a mug of... Something, in her hand, he couldn't tell and watched the liquid swirl around.

He had to wonder how liquored up she was, staying in the bar with all this commotion. Then again... She did run her own and was probably used to the chatter and noise.

His eyes narrowed when he got closer. Three men were more or less surrounding her and every now and then she would shoot them annoyed looks and try to push them away but failed, as her hand usually missed the target. Walking up, he managed to squeeze past one of the men and take Tifa's arm. "If you wouldn't mind..." He said, eying the men. They only stood up straighter, not intimidated in the least.

He resolved for ignoring them altogether and, to his great delight, they didn't move after them. Getting Tifa out of the bar wasn't easy as she struggled against him at points, but once he'd made it outside, she stopped completely.

"Tifa..." He started but she twirled around to face him and all but fell against him. She pressed herself up against him completely and smiled as best she could, a strange sparkle in her eye. He had no choice but to hold her upright and that only served to bring her up closer to him.

Strange... He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he enjoyed it. Not like he would with other women...

No, this was different.

Of course, seeing her so out of it only put him off wanting to...

_Stop it._

Before he knew what was happening her face was inches from his and she laid her head against his chest. "You mean a lot to me... You know that?" She whispered, lifting herself up as best she could and kissing him full on the lips.

* * *


	10. Choices

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Ten - Choices_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Sunlight bathed the bedroom in a brilliant glow and Tifa's eyelids fluttered drowsily. Letting her eyes get used to the light that was coming through the very much opened blinds, which Tifa found increasingly annoying, it took her a few moments to focus and sit up.

She regretted that.

She let out a moan and placed a hand on her head. Her vision swam and she closed her eyes. How much had she had to drink? Better yet, what was she doing in... Rufus' room? She blinked. Huh? How had she even gotten home last night?

She stood and swayed slightly but eventually walked out into the living room.

'I guess it doesn't really matter...'

There was nothing around to indicate that either Rufus or the children were still in the house and she was somewhat glad for it. The last thing she needed was an absolutely pounding headache -- it wasn't all that bad at the moment, she noticed. In fact, all things considered, she felt a lot better. About everything.

_Go figure._

She searched the cupboards in the adjoining kitchen for ingredients to a simple mix she'd learnt about long ago. It cured headaches -- hangovers -- quickly and effectively. Not altogether of course, but...

Mixing it, she wondered where her three companions had gone.

'Funny how I seem to have gotten used to the fact of Rufus being with the kids... It doesn't seem to bother me at all anymore...' She thought, frowning at the thought.

It was funny how much she'd learnt about Rufus. Before now she could have confidently said he was a cold and uncaring bastard, but now... She had to admit there was more to him.

She also had to admit, she wanted the chance to figure out what that 'something more' was.

She sighed as she downed the drink in one swallow and proceeded to make her way to the bathroom. For a nice, soothing shower.

She took a second to look over her appearance in the mirror upon entering and shutting the door. She tilted her head in confusion and sadness.

_Not where I thought I'd end up._

_What happened to me?_

She smiled, defeated, and decided she really needed to not choose now to start her pity party. Stripping her clothing, she stepped into the shower and turned the water first to cold and then to hot. The rivulets of water slid down her frame and she closed her eyes in relaxation.

'Maybe...'

She scrubbed her body down with her strawberry shower gel and began to work on her hair.

'I'll call one of the others when I go home today...'

She had decided now, that she wanted to go home. She wanted to go back to the bar, to her business.

'Once I've saved up enough money... I'll get away from there, from Midgar. I'll make a living somewhere else.' Rinsing herself, she wrapped a towel around her form and walked out of the bathroom into surprisingly cold air. She walked into the the children's room and dressed.

'I'll give my children a proper life.'

She couldn't help but grin and stretch with the grace of a feline when she walked out the front door and into the sunlight. "It's so beautiful here!" She said aloud, waving at the passersby and the children kicking the soccer ball back and forth to each other.

She didn't need to think of where to go to find the others.

The beach was already crowded at nine thirty. Men were walking around lazily, swimming trunks, surfboards and all with a few women tagging along here or there. Otherwise, the women were lounging underneath the sun that was already warming the sand beneath Tifa's feet. Teenagers were playing their usual games and swimming around in the water and some, she noticed, were staring at her either... with jealousy or...? She was sure she didn't want to know, but it made her laugh all the same.

She felt so different!

She couldn't help but wonder why.

"Good morning!" Tifa chirped happily to Rufus.

"Tifa, look at me!" Marlene called out, waving enthusiastically and diving down under the water. Tifa clapped for her when she surfaced after performing a hand stand.

"That's great sweetie!" She called back out to her. She frowned down at Rufus at his lack of response. She sat beside him, hugged her knees to her chest and looked over at him inquisitively. "Is something wrong?"

She was shocked at how annoyed he was as he spared her a glance. She racked her brain then for any possible reason as to why he might be feeling that way.

"Do you really have no idea?" He asked and she couldn't deny there being an edge to his voice.

"I..." She began, but something clicked in her mind before she could even finish her sentence.

'I was at the villa this morning...'

'...I couldn't remember how...?'

The words suddenly formed in her mind and she could feel her stomach drop.

_"You mean a lot to me... You know that?"_

The last thing she could remember were those words and her lips touching his. Everything after that was gone.

'How could I have forgotten!? Oh my...'

"Oh my... God." Tifa gasped, looking over at him, horrified. He was standing now, to her dismay and he wasn't looking at her -- he was watching the children.

She couldn't describe what she was feeling.

Sorry and not sorry? She felt like she'd betrayed Cloud... Yet she felt like she had done something right for once.

She couldn't bring herself to say she regretted it -- not with it being _true_, anyways.

"It's funny the things people do when they spend their entire life loving and waiting for someone... When they don't come back, everything crashes down around you and you do... The stupidest things."

She was left to contemplate his words and what she was feeling... _thinking_... as he walked away from her.

* * *


	11. Return

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Eleven - Return_

Disclaimer: Oh Squeenix. xD These words, however, are mine.

* * *

'I can't believe this...'

The words reverberated through her head over and over again until she thought she would scream. The frustration that was building inside of her was unbearable! What had she been thinking!? How much had she been drinking!?

More importantly, why did she not feel all that sorry?

Why did she feel like she'd finally done something right, something that gave her _freedom_?

They'd packed up and left Costa Del Sol a little after the event that had conspired on the beach. Both adults were willing to utter not a word about it, but the tension in the air was thick as they stood just outside the town, letting the children have a moment.

"Tifa, why are we leaving so soon?" Marlene asked and Tifa admired her at that moment. Even though she wanted so badly to cry and whine, to kick and scream about how she didn't want to leave the peace and happiness she'd found in this small town... Her voice was level and her expression calm but curious.

"I... It's just time that we got home." Tifa said, avoiding Rufus' piercing gaze.

"Oh." She replied, resignedly. Then, her voice perked up a bit. "Is Cloud home! Is he waiting for us?"

She struggled then, with what to say. Had Cloud made his way home? Her heart skipped a beat as Denzel's eyes met hers. The guilt bubbled up in her stomach and reached her throat. She couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth.

"Yes, he's home and he's waiting for you." She damned whatever compelled her to kneel down in front of Denzel and cup the side of her face lovingly. "He can't wait to see you."

"Which is why," Rufus said, walking past them from his watchful position behind the three and into the helicopter. He smiled or smirked for the children but otherwise made no eye contact with the martial artist. "We should get going -- shouldn't keep Cloud waiting." Only then did he strike Tifa down with the most calculating glare she'd ever seen.

Did he really care _that_ much?

'No,' she thought. 'The better question would be _why_ he cares so much.'

The thought alone had her mind whirling.

'Stop it! What is wrong with you...?' She scolded herself silently as she stepped onto the metal contraption. She noticed upon entering, that his wheelchair was nowhere to be seen. She hesitated slightly before taking the passenger seat.

"I guess you're feeling better, since you don't have your wheelchair anymore." She stated, hoping to receive a response and crush the hard feelings between the two. No such luck, however.

Silence greeted her.

She opened her mouth and closed it again as the helicopter took off. What was she supposed to say? Did she need to apologize?

She was under the influence!

He hadn't needed to follow her and retrieve her. She was a big girl, she'd had drinks before.

So many? The voice in the back of her head asked. What if something had been wrong that night? She could vaguely remember the night but really, aside from walking into the bar and kissing Rufus...

Everything else was gone. Blank.

"I'm sorry, you know." She said, despite her thoughts. "I didn't mean to do anything that might have offended you that night." She laughed lightly. "I actually can't remember much..."

Oh, great Tifa.

Just great.

Rufus grunted and switched arms, pushing buttons before resting back against his chair. "It doesn't matter."

"No, it does!" Tifa exclaimed, spinning on her chair. She continued on more quietly, not wanting to disturb the two behind them. "You've been acting moody ever since then and..." She sighed and turned back around. "I don't know. I just don't want this tension between us..."

'Wow, when did I start to give a damn about Rufus' feelings towards me? Tension? Why wouldn't I want it!'

He tried to kill you...

He tried to kill all of your friends.

"But you're different..." She muttered under her breath. "You're different now. I think I'm beginning to see that."

"I'm not angry at you." He said and his voice was so strained she could tell he wasn't used to having these kinds of conversations.

"But..."

"Just drop it." He said hurriedly, curtly.

Tifa lowered her eyes and the rest of the ride went on in silence, her heart beating faster each minute. Every moment they flew, they were getting closer and closer to Midgar, their home.

When she finally saw it in the distance, she was guilt ridden, tired and sick of the mess known as her life.

'Why did I say that?' She thought. 'Cloud isn't home. He probably never will be. Not for me... Not for them.'

Bitter.

That word could describe everything the transpired when she thought of Cloud. Every thought, every wish, every dream... They were all bitter. Everything was said or thought with bitterness.

'I just want them to be happy...'

* * *

His thoughts were everywhere. He was being pulled in both directions! This woman was... Was...

Infuriating!

He wasn't necessarily angry at her... He was more angry at her for what she was doing to him. What she was making him feel.

'Ha. _Making me feel_. You imbecile.'

The night's events flew past him in rapid succession and he couldn't believe any of it.

Did she realize what she would have been leaving behind, if she'd been so drunk the men surrounding her had managed to physically take her out of there? What would they have done? Where might she be now?

He knew that wasn't the real reason, but he didn't give a damn.

He'd suffer the fires of hell before he admitted anything.

Confusing too! He was confused. Confused about everything that was happening and what he was experiencing.

He was beginning to wonder about himself. He couldn't possibly be starting to... Care? That bubble of feeling forming in his stomach and the thoughts running rampant through his head...

Then there was another matter the consider.

He much preferred to call it rage, but... It was what it was.

Why was he filled with, dare he say it, a wave of jealousy whenever Cloud was mentioned?

What was he to say about _that_?

* * *

"We're home." Tifa said, enthusiasm not a word in her dictionary.

"Cloud!" Marlene and Denzel shouted together excitedly and Tifa closed her eyes. She tried to block out the sound of the two behind her, not at all happy.

'God, Cloud. If there was ever anything I needed from you...'

When they had landed, Rufus had insisted upon walking with them to '7th Heaven' despite Tifa's protesting about not wanting to cause him further trouble. He was now walking behind her and beside the children, whispering excitedly along with them. She smiled subconsciously -- he was really good with children, which, gathered from the way he'd acted years before, did not seem like something he would have a talent for.

That smile, however, was wiped from her face as they rounded the last corner that separated her view from their current residence.

"Please be home..." She whispered aloud. Her eyes widened and she stood in numb shock as the children ran past her to the bar.

"Cloud!"

"Cloud's home, Cloud!"

"His bike..." Tifa said, her voice sounding scratchy. She looked down at the ground before turning around. "Rufus, I..."

He was walking away and she stopped. He stopped at hearing his name.

"It was..." He hesitated. "...Good having you and the children, but I think your running is over."

Tifa felt the need to say more but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. Turning, she walked the few steps over to the bar and pushed open the door, uttering a barely audible 'thank you'.

* * *


	12. Confrontation

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twelve - Confrontation_

Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to Square Enix. These words, this story, however, is mine.

* * *

Something she couldn't place kept her standing just outside the door. Something inside of her screamed to run, to hide, to get as far away as possible. She would have, too, had the children not ran through the door towards the one person they'd been waiting for for a long time. Had she known they wouldn't have been happy to just see him.

But they had. And they did want to see him.

She took two deep breaths, a mantra forming in her mind. 'I will not break down in front of him. _I will not_.'

Old feelings were beginning to rush back and she felt overwhelmed. She hadn't even walked through the door yet! She'd always known she loved him, she'd always felt that little flutter in her stomach. Her skin always became that much more sensitive.

So why was she so scared now?

She could just barely hear his deep and familiar voice through the door, asking the kids of her whereabouts. "Where's Tifa?"

She walked in then. A split second decision was all it took for her to move her feet and clear all expressions from her face. She tried to steady her racing heart and tried to gain control over that swipe of fear that rolled through her stomach.

Ruby red met striking blue.

They stood there, looking at each other, just staring. Cloud seemed to tense and Tifa's back went up.

"Where have you been?" He asked. She could just detect that edge to his voice, telling her he was curious but a mild anger overtook it by just a bit. His eyes swept down to Marlene and Denzel before they returned to their original place. His eyes seemed to repeat the question.

She couldn't deny that upon first laying her eyes on him, the love she'd felt for him had flowed through her stronger than ever. Yet, then she remembered how he'd left her, how he'd abandoned her to look after the children, the bar, to feed the three of them without having that significant other to lean on. And the love was still there.

But it was different than before. There was a more protective, a more familial presence.

Anger and resentment spurned her next words. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Cloud's eyes widened a fraction at her retort. Never had she spoken like this -- that -- to him; with so much fierceness and so much bitterness.

He knew, deep down, he deserved it.

Yet he himself was bristling and stubbornness kicked in. "I do." In an act of pure selfishness, he leaned down and looked into Marlene's innocent and frightened eyes. "Where were you guys all this time?"

"Cloud--"

Marlene's eyes darted between Cloud and Tifa, unsure.

"You're different, Cloud... Aren't you?" Denzel's voice broke the nearly tangible silence and tension. "You're not acting like you usually do."

Cloud's head fell to his chest then and he stayed like that for what seemed like forever. His voice, so small and quivering with emotion eventually started them out of the pregnant pause. "I... Found nothing. I found nothing." He looked up and Tifa saw the grief in his eyes. "She said she forgave me. Why can't I find her then?" He mumbled that last bit and Tifa barely caught it. "It just goes to show how I can't keep anybody with me."

"Cloud, she's dead." Tifa stated, looking on him with pity. Their eyes rose together as he stood. "You have to move on, stop living in the past!"

"What do you know. About any of this?" Cloud asked.

"I miss her too, Cloud." Tifa answered heatedly, enraged. How could he even think she didn't miss her, didn't want her to come back! "She was my best friend, Cloud, but she would've never wanted me to live like you are now. She doesn't want _you_ to live like this."

"How could she not? I watched her die."

Tifa sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her hair.

Cloud watched her silently. "Where have you been? I've been calling you for days."

"Oh, well that's something different!"

"Tifa..."

"What? You couldn't have seriously expected me to just sit here and wait for you. You don't even know who you are, Cloud, you can't even forgive yourself. And even then, for what!?" She walked to the door and placed a hand on the doorknob. "What happened that day was, _is_, not your fault."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Marlene and Denzel's faces contort to that of sadness.

'They're too smart,' she thought.

"Cloud..." She opened the door. "Please, leave."

"What?"

"Please. I can't... I can't do this. Not now. They," she motioned to the two beside her. "They don't need this either."

"I'm not leaving. We need to talk..."

Tifa turned to face him, tears in her eyes. "Talk? Where were you a year ago? That's when we needed to talk, Cloud." Her voice broke and she squeezed her eyes shut. "There's no more _time_ for talking."

"Tifa..." Marlene whimpered.

She steeled herself against the pitifully soft and pleading voice. She would not give in. She _had_ to do this.

For herself.

For them.

"I'm not leaving, Tifa." Cloud's voice was soft now, the way it used to be. This was the voice she'd fallen for, the voice that belonged to the man she'd loved.

Past tense.

Lov_ed_.

Loved _once_.

But not anymore.

"Kids, let's go." She heaved a great sigh and grabbed the children's coats. If he wouldn't leave, she would. It was surprisingly easy to grab their things, to walk past Cloud and to walk through the door. She saw the children's fearful looks as they were torn away from the family, the hope they had for a better life.

She suppressed the smile that begged to play on her lips as she finally walked away.

'How fitting,' she thought dryly. 'Smiling at a time like this?'

"Where will you be?" Cloud asked, striding to the door in one fluid movement, catching her arm. His gripped tightened when she made to remove her arm from his grasp and she sighed in agravation.

"Rufus'. I'm going to Rufus. I have been with Rufus for the past week." She didn't know why she said it, what compelled her to blurt it out. She was going to Rufus? When did this happen?

She saw the hurt and betrayal in his eyes and she felt but a glimpse of remorse and sadness. "I'm sorry, Cloud. This isn't working and... They deserve more."

_So do I._

With that she pried her arm away from him and walked away, the children's hands in hers.

And it felt so damn good, to shed that last bit of hope and longing for something she knew she could never have.

* * *


	13. Trust?

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Thirteen - Trust?_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, or anything else. Square does. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Yes, it felt damn good.

But by the gods, it hurt as well.

She could practically feel his eyes on her. She couldn't erase the image of his face, how hurt and betrayed he looked. She couldn't erase the words she'd spoken from her mind. And the children were shaking -- in fear, anger? She didn't know.

She was above all else, fixated on the fact that she'd told him they were going to Rufus'.

Rufus.

What on Gaia had possessed her to say that?

It had, admittedly, been on her mind.

As had he.

But honestly. To just say it, give the children some hope after such an event that had just occurred and proceed to walk up to his door without any explanation other than 'you were the first person that came to mind'.

God.

What's happening to me, she wondered. Since when did I think about Rufus?

"Tifa? Why are we leaving?" Marlene asked.

She stayed silent for a while. Marlene just kept walking, knowing that Tifa would answer her eventually.

Elena will be back by now, she thought. I'm not going there for _Rufus_.

She panicked when she didn't feel all too satisfied by her thoughts.

She couldn't deny she felt like she could... Dare she say it, trust him. After everything he'd done to her and her friends, she _was_ beginning to trust him. How!? she thought. The answer came to her as quickly as anything else. He took care of us for a time, despite everything.

He made the children happy.

He _understands_.

"I... I just need to see Elena."

Idiot, she thought.

Marlene could see right through her and she didn't look too pleased.

"What about Cloud? Are we gonna go back tomorrow? Tonight?" Denzel asked and Tifa could hear that edge in his voice that always appeared when on the subject of Cloud.

He was angry, she knew. Angry and confused. He thought she was doing Cloud wrong.

He'll always be Cloud's boy, she thought, resigned. But we can't just stay together because Denzel wants us to -- and he can't just stay with Cloud. He leaves. We fight.

What a mess.

"Denzel... I'll take you to see him tomorrow. We need to cool down right now."

"Why can't I stay with him?"

Whatever light had been left in Tifa's eyes dimmed. "I... I'm sure we could always work something out if that's what you want."

He said nothing and Tifa was unbelievably relieved the conversation stopped at that.

"Tifa?" Marlene asked, noting they were nearly there. "Can we go visit everyone soon? I want to see Papa."

"Of course we can." Tifa replied thoughtlessly, watching her feet. Every step she took she felt that triumph fade a little more, always a little more. She felt that resolve crumble just a tiny bit. She wished so badly she could just fix everything. She wished everything could just go back to the way things were.

But, things didn't work like that... Did they?

No.

And she'd already tried too many times.

She needed to move on.

She was at the door to the Inn before she knew it and she knocked a few times. How much time had passed? She didn't realize until now how long the walk had been. Looking down at the kids though, she only saw two relatively unhappy but determined children.

And then their faces lit up.

"Reno!" They yelled simultaneously. The jumped at him and he backed away.

It was to no avail though.

Tifa let a smile just hardly reach her lips and she walked over to where he lay on the floor, Marlene already busily braiding his hair and he and Denzel wrestling.

He was really good with kids, she'd learned. The first time she'd brought them here, sometime after she and Elena had become friends, he'd put on a display and kept the kids entertained the entire visit. It never failed any other time after that either, though it seemed like he only did it because he really did have nothing else to do but go to a bar with Rude and get drunk out of his mind.

She let that slip though.

"Why, hello there babe." Reno said, winking with a grin on his face. The kids made disgusted faces at him and he laughed.

"Is Elena here?" She asked.

He pouted. "Don't you want to spend some quality time with me?" He wagged his eyebrows suggestively and she rolled her eyes, kicking him in the side lightly.

"Okay, okay. Yes, she's here, but I refuse to tell you where." He relented.

Childish, she thought, but Reno.

She walked away from the three and then stopped when a sudden nervousness flowed through her. What if she found Rufus instead of Elena? What on Gaia would he think? She thought, for a moment, about turning right back around and walking out the door. She scratched that idea and instead replaced it with the idea of asking Reno where he was.

What the _hell_ is wrong with you?

She sighed and rubbed her temples, walking forward. She would not act like an idiot, she would not--.

Blue eyes and blond hair. She squealed in surprise and jumped backwards.

"Tifa! How are you?" Elena asked, grabbing her arms and pulling her into the kitchen. Tifa couldn't believe how relieved she was that it wasn't Rufus, but Elena -- and she couldn't believe how loud Elena was being! This was an Inn, after all, surely there were people staying here! She relayed her question to Elena and she merely shook her head and walked over to the sink, letting Tifa grab a chair for herself.

"No, no, there's nobody here right now. But then, is there ever?" She chatted away, bubbly as ever. Tifa smiled at Rude as she sat down beside him. He smiled a little back before he got up and left the women to themselves. "I mean, _we_ are _here_, aren't we? I can't imagine anyone would want to be here while we're here."

"That's saddening." Tifa said, looking around the room. It was in as good a shape as the rest of the building, which was little to no shape at all. The place was dingy -- old, hardly furnished, very abandoned looking. The pale grayish-blue paint did little to the room and there was nothing on the shelves, cabinets were falling apart...

She'd seen better rooms.

Maybe nobody comes here because of this, she thought, not because of _who_ is here.

She would never voice that, of course.

"Don't you guys want to get away from Midgar and... this?" Tifa asked.

Elena swept the room with her eyes. "Well... Yeah, it is kind of grungy." She put something in front of Tifa -- a cup full of something or other -- before she continued. "Rufus can get us out of here it's just that... Well, he doesn't think he should."

Tifa, confused, asked why.

"He just doesn't think he deserves more than this, you know?" Elena's eyes turned downcast and she tried to focus on something other than the woman in front of her as she leaned on the counter. "And we won't leave him alone. He isn't all that bad..."

"I know."

Elena grinned.

"What?"

"Nothing. How did your days with Rufus go anyway?" She inquired. Her face turned apologetic. "I'm sorry, by the way, for leaving you here. It's just, he was in a wheelchair, we still have enemies..." She rambled on for a while about nothing in particular and Tifa just listened, trying to think of a way to ask her friend is she and the kids could stay with them.

"Why are you here anyway?"

Silence.

"Tifa? Tifa?"

"What?" Tifa snapped out of her trance. "Oh, I, um..."

Elena looked her in the eye questioningly.

"I just, uh, wanted to know if..." She bit her lip. "If we, the children and I, could stay here for a while. I don't know..." She sighed. "I don't know how long, but..."

"Of course you can stay here. Of course." She saw the look in Tifa's eyes and knew not to press her about it just yet.

That was talk for another day.

* * *


	14. Believe

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Fourteen - Believe_

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from FF7 -- not the characters, the settings, nothing. These word, however, are mine.

* * *

Tifa and Elena had chatted away for a while longer about anything and everything -- Tifa knew that, for her, it was a kind of escapism. A way of shutting the world and all the hurtful things she'd been going through and experiencing out, too just relax and let her guard down. For Elena, it was just the pleasure of having company. Both Elena and Tifa knew that most of the inhabitants of Gaia may not ever forgive Shinra and their e-employee's and Elena took every opportunity she could to be a normal person, something she would never get otherwise.

It wasn't until Reno walked into the room, Marlene asleep in his arms and Denzel at his side, eyes glowing but weariness showing in his face, that Tifa decided she would get them all into a room and settle for the night. Reno, after a heated fight with Elena over who would get the three a suitable room which Elena won, showed them in and told them to, in his exact words, 'get whatever the hell they needed and leave him alone'. Tifa smiled, not only at his defeated and deflated ego attitude, but at the idea of the young blond and red head as a couple.

They sure as hell acted like one.

Marlene, tucked into a warm bed and looking positively angelic, murmured in her sleep. _Papa_.

Tifa's eyes softened and she brushed back a bit of her hair from her face. She would be sure to phone Barret tonight. Maybe she'd call a few of the others, check up on them, find out all the new happenings... Yet, when she looked at the phone, she felt the need to guard herself. Would they ask questions?

Would Cloud have phoned them first? Did he even phone them anymore?

She sighed and turned to Denzel who was just crawling into bed slowly. Reno sure knew how to tire them out. She stood and walked over to him, tucking him in as she had Marlene. She watched him carefully, not looking away when his eyes met her own and they locked gazes. Denzel eventually smiled and she smiled back, returning the spur of the moment hug she received.

"I'm scared Tifa. What's gonna happen to Cloud?"

She pulled back and let him lay back. She searched for the right words but couldn't find them. There were no right or wrong words. "Denzel, we're going to work this out. I don't know if we're going to be living together anymore, but Cloud and I both love you. You're going to be fine." She cupped his cheek with her hand and looked at him almost sternly, wanting to drive those words into his head. "We both love you."

Denzel nodded and the tension seemed to leave him. "I love you, Tifa."

"I love you too, sweetie. Get some sleep." She kissed him soundly on the forehead and stood up. She walked away from him and into the bathroom. She shut the door quietly and forced herself not to look in the mirror. She splashed cold water and her face and instantly felt a little better. She scrubbed and scrubbed, not really wanting to see what she had looked like for the last bit of the day, after everything that had happened.

Eventually, she couldn't stop herself. She couldn't say how long she just stared, scrutinized her reflection.

What was so wrong with her?

Why could Cloud not find anything to love in her?

Fresh tears sprang to her eyes at the question. They had been so happy for a while -- what had caused them to fall apart? She took steadying breaths then, trying to regain herself. Tomorrow's a different day, she thought. Tomorrow's a new day. She would think on it then, she decided.

But she could feel a void inside of her, now that everything was quiet and she felt truly alone. Thoughts cascaded through her -- would she ever find peace? Love? Happiness? How much longer did she need to be alone? She blinked a couple of times, resolving not to cry. And the tears didn't come. The hole was there and it pulled her in -- it was so strong. The feeling of being alone, forever, for now, it swallowed her whole and made her rethink everything she'd ever had and ever done.

She wouldn't have an easy sleep tonight.

Walking out of the bathroom, she was glad to see both children sleeping soundly. Her eyes immediately fell on the phone, but she knew she couldn't talk with them in the room. The fear of them waking and hearing whatever she said with the thought of a breakdown in the back of her mind held no merit. So slowly, quietly, she left the room, closing the door soundly.

She walked into an unoccupied room two doors down and the breath and sigh she took was... Amazing. At that little movement, she felt... Relieved, like a weight had been lifted off of her.

But the hole was still there.

And it's force was doubled now.

She wrapped her arms around herself and walked over to the bed, where a small desk was, the phone sitting on top of it. She just sat for a moment, going over all her friends faces and decided on who to call first.

Dialing, she held the phone to her ear and a roll of anxiety passed through her, her stomach flipped and she had the physically force herself to keep the phone in her hand. She looked at the clock, the time something she'd failed to take into account before now. She was relieved to see it was hardly late at all.

For the kids to be asleep now, well... That was a feat.

"Hello?" A familiarly cheery voice resounded through the phone and Tifa felt like crying.

"Shera?" Tifa asked, trying to keep her voice level.

"Tifa, dear, how nice of you to call. How are you?"

"Oh, Shera..."

"Honey, what's wrong?" Tifa almost laughed. God, she missed this woman. She was something akin to a motherly-type to Tifa and right now she sounded to protective and so... So very reminiscent of all those mothers on television. Older, with backbone and sass.

Tifa swallowed deeply and wondered what to tell her. She briefly described the events of the night, a faint outline, and she had to admit she felt much better when she was finished. It was nice to have someone to talk to, she realized. How had she gone so long without seeing everyone, without phoning them all up?

"Oh sweetheart--" She was cut off by the slamming of a door. Tifa could hear, on the other end, something being kicked into the wall -- Tifa surmised it was Cid kicking his boots off -- and then Cid's gruff voice asking Shera where his 'god-damned tea' was. Tifa smiled and tears leaked out of her eyes. She heard Shera tell him it was in the cupboard, where it always was and Cid swearing, before she came back to the conversation. "Sweetheart, maybe you should come up to see us?" She sounded hopeful and Tifa was speechless.

"Who's that?" Cid said on the other end. Shera let him know and there was some scuffling before Tifa's head was filled with him booming voice and laugh -- she could almost see him grinning. "Tifa! Where ya been all these years?"

"Oh, Cid."

"Shit, don't go and cry on me. I didn't know you were so unhappy to hear my voice!"

Tifa laughed.

"That's what I thought. So, you comin' up here? Do I need to come and get ya?"

I'll be coming to see you for sure," Tifa said, smiling and wiping her tears away. A sense of excitement flowed through her and she was elated. She wanted to see the two of them so badly -- Shera was expecting, she'd known. Three or four months left and they'd have a little Cid or Shera holding all their attention. "I just don't think right now is the best time. But I will be coming."

_I will_.

"What's goin' on up there? Cloud being himself again? Do I need to come and kick his scrawny ass?"

"Too many questions." Tifa chirped. "Look Cid," She continued, glancing at the clock. "I have a few more calls to make. I'll phone you tomorrow, alright? If you need to get a hold of me I'm staying at the Inn, alright?"

Cid seemed almost hesitant to end the phone call. She knew he knew something was up, for her to switch the topic and make excuses to keep her from not talking about whatever was bothering her, whatever was happening. "Alright. But if I don't hear from you tomorrow, be ready to hear my fucking baby."

Tifa smiled, taking his threat entirely seriously.

"I'll talk to you soon, Cid. I miss you guys."

"Yeah, yeah, we've missed you too. Now let's cut this mushy bullshit."

Tifa laughed for the, surprisingly, third time that night. "Bye, Cid."

He responded in kind and they both hung up. Tifa let her hand fall onto her lap and she hung her head. She was so happy.

And she felt the need to cry now.

There was an actual pain in her chest now. A searing pain, an almost physical pain. She was _so happy_. That's what made it all worse. Shera and Cid had missed her. How could she have gone so long without a phone call to them? How had she further hurt herself through her separation of herself from her friends? How could she be happy when so much had taken place tonight?

What were her other friends going to say?

Vincent, she didn't get a hold of. She was determined to try again, but decided to wait until tomorrow. She did want sleep tonight. She phoned Barret next and went through the same thing she did with Cid and Shera, although there was much more swearing and threats to kick Cloud's ass. He said he would make it out there somehow in the next few days to see her and Marlene -- his schedule was busy, but again, he promised to see them. Yuffie, Tifa said nothing to. They conversed like they usually would and Tifa felt more connected and less lonely. Red, Reeve and Elmyra she had the most lengthly conversations with. They talked about everything.

Literally.

And at the end of the phone calling session, Tifa was exhausted.

She dragged herself to the room, was satisfied to see the still sleeping forms of Denzel and Marlene and fell heavily onto the bed.

She was asleep before she hit the pillow.

* * *


	15. Progression?

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Fifteen - Progression?_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

The sunlight trying to make its way through her eyelids was what woke her. She tried to huddle back between the warm sheets and fall back into that warm state of being asleep but still somewhat functional, but it eluded her. She rubbed her face tiredly and let her eyes open. She blinked for a moment, confused. Where was she again?

The previous nights events came rushing back to her and she moaned unhappily. She was at the Inn, with Reno, Elena, Rude and Rufus. And the kids. And what about Cloud? What was he doing?

She hoped he was at least doing alright.

'Thoughts of him so early in the morning already? God girl, get past him.'

Easier said than done.

Either way, being a morning person, she jumped out of bed with an almost hyper energy surrounding her that only those close to her would know she didn't actually feel. She walked over to the window slowly and opened the blinds a bit. She smiled when the sun hit her face, warming her and the room instantly. It was a beautiful day. Less dark and dreary than it had been ever before.

A new beginning.

She noticed the kids weren't in bed, but she wasn't really worried. Elena, Reno or Rude wouldn't let them leave. They were always up _early_.

She took a half an hour to hop into the shower, do something with her hair and run to Elena to get something... Different to wear. She was eventually in a long cut white tank top and a pair of loose fitting navy blue sweat pants, with fluffy white socks and her haired pulled back in a ponytail, her bangs framing her face and she felt great. It was so Elena and she suddenly wondered why she'd ever even wondered why Elena would wear something like this. It was so comfortable and free.

Walking downstairs she could hear the chattering of the kids and the exasperated voices of her friends.

'But, I can do it!" Denzel cried.

"But you can also not!" Reno mocked.

"Reno, stop being an as--. I uh, I mean, a jerk." Elena snapped, correcting herself in front of the kids. "Just let him do something."

"Stop talking, bubble head."

"What!?"

"..." Rude was _obviously_ enjoying the entire situation.

Tifa would never forget the sight of Elena running at Reno with the sharp fork-like utensil.

She walked over to the table where Marlene and Rude sat quietly, Marlene smiling at everything happening around them and Rude trying to tune it all out. Surely he was used to it, but it probably made it no less annoying when it happened all the time. "Good morning Marlene, Rude." Tifa chirped happily. Rude nodded his acknowledgment and Marlene hugged her.

"They've been arguing all morning. They're funny."

"That they are, sweetie. I phoned your dad last night and guess what?"

"What!?" Her sudden excitement was contagious.

"Well... He said he was going to come out and see us in the next few days." Tifa said, smiling when the girl's entire face lit up.

"Really!?" She squealed happily, jumping up and down in her seat.

Tifa nodded. "Really."

"Tifa!" Elena called out.

Tifa snapped her head up and her eyes widened.

'God, these two need to stop this bickering! _This_ is ridiculous.'

Tifa had barely enough time to look up than to catch the food flying towards her. She wouldn't have been able to move out of the way, regardless of how fast she was, so she simply raised her forearm in front of her face.

There was no impact of syrup coated pancakes on her face, though.

She blinked, confused and lowered her forearm slowly, like she expected to be jumped in that moment.

"Nice catch!" Reno said, grabbing Elena's arm and proceeding to render her immobile.

There was a hand in front of her face. Tifa just blinked for a minute, dumbfounded. She regained herself quickly though and looked up into the face of none other than Rufus Shinra. How he'd managed to catch it so fast was beyond her, unless he'd been standing behind her. She shook her head and met his eyes. "Thanks." Almost immediately after, she shot a killer glare Reno and Elena's way.

"Good morning, babe!" Reno drawled, winking at her.

He's pay for it later. "Good morning, Reno." She sent him an exasperated look.

"You look nice this morning, Tifa." Elena said, giving her a once over. "Really nice. You should try to wear those kinds of clothes more often. They're a godsend."

Tifa smiled. "I believe you, don't worry."

Rufus had since, walked past all of them and grabbed some food. He took his time and, finally, sat himself at the table beside Rude and across from Tifa. They all lapsed into a comfortable silence.

That is, until Rufus spoke up.

"Kicked out?" He asked, watching Tifa steadily. The children wouldn't have known, but Tifa and the threesome in the kitchen could see the hint of mocking in his striking blue eyes. There was an edge to his voice she'd never heard before as well. Glaring, she stabbed her newly placed food with her fork.

"No." Not wanting to start anything with the kids so close, that was all she said.

"Then what are you doing here?"

Tifa's eyes snapped up to his in a second. For some odd reason, he was grating on her nerves very easily this morning. She didn't feel offended or anything, but she just felt...

Riled up.

"Is me being here going to cause you some trouble?"

"Perhaps."

"Tough." She narrowed her eyes at him and felt her sudden emotional wave flare up when amusement flashed in his eyes.

"Uh, Tifa." Elena said, walking over to the table and grabbing her friend's arm. "Why don't we just--?"

Tifa ignored her and pulled her arm gently out of Elena's grasp. She focused again on her food and everyone fell into silence once more, but it wasn't particularly comfortable. Elena and Rude seemed to be waiting for either Rufus or Tifa to speak, Reno and Denzel were happily chatting away about something in the corner and Marlene was looking upon the situation with practiced ease and didn't say anything.

Rufus sat back in his chair and gave them all a once over. He shook his head when Tifa wouldn't look up at him and pushed his chair back and stood. "Elena, Reno, Rude, keep them occupied?" Rufus asked, motioning to the kids.

"Could you join me?" He added and Tifa groaned internally when she saw that his words were directed to her. What did he want now?

'And why, girl, are you so damn annoyed?'

* * *


	16. Quarrel and Conversation

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Sixteen - Quarrel and Conversation_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

'Rather _not_ go.' Tifa thought acidly.

She couldn't place why she felt so angry -- or was it nervousness? In the end, she decided not to think about it and, not wanting to cause a scene, walked patiently and calmly out of the kitchen after Rufus. She noticed despite her efforts, she _was_ tense and they probably _had_ noticed and she berated herself that rest of the way.

Not too much, though.

"Where exactly are we going? And why?" She asked, breaking the silence the pair had lapsed into. She kept walking as Rufus paused mid-step and turned back to glance at her from over his shoulder.

"No where in particular." He answered and she could hear the undercurrent of amusement in his voice as he tried to keep himself from breaking out into laughter.

"_What_?"

He shrugged and continued on his way. Had she seen his face, she probably would've been spurred on into a painful retaliation as his lips were graced with a holier-than-thou smirk.

She however, did not continue walking. She glared at his retreating form, her hands placed on her hips and her head cocked to the side. "_Why_ are you such a pretentious bastard?"

Holy shit, what was coming _out of her mouth?_

He laughed aloud, for the first time since she'd met him. She was taken aback by her first thought -- that he should laugh more often. Her second thought was no better -- that he sounded... _Nice_ when he was laughing. Quite simply, he rendered her speechless for the very first time and that was not something she liked. At all.

"Why are you so gullible?"

"I..." She stuttered. "I'm not gullible!"

He shrugged again and turned to walk away but she stopped him.

"Wait, I..." Her mind raced to catch up with her mouth. "You may as well take me somewhere now, since I'm here and following you."

'Screw me.' She thought, groaning internally.

"Such as?"

"Well I don't know, you're the one who asked me to follow you in the first place, surely you knew where it was you were walking to?"

He smirked and motioned his head in a way that said 'follow me, but keep up'. Tifa raised her eyes to the heavens and wondered, why, god, was she in this mess? But, she was, so she resolved to just go with it. Curiosity peaked when she remembered that look he'd given her back at Costa Del Sol. 'Maybe I can find something out?'

Find what though? What was she looking for exactly?

She skipped a few steps in her hurry to catch up with him.

"So." She started, unable to handle the quiet surrounding them and just wanting to make sure nothing turned drastically awkward for them. "Why do you still stay here, at the Inn?"

He sent her a disbelieving look, as though he wasn't sure she knew how to ask him anything before now. It was sad, now that she thought about it. She'd hardly ever spoken to him even though, because of Elena, they'd seen each other quite a bit. Would she have wanted him to do that to her, anyone to do that to her? Probably not. A swell of guilt bubbled up in her stomach and she swallowed to keep herself from speaking up any further and saying something inappropriate to the moment like she was sorry.

"Do you really think we could go anywhere else?"

"Well, yeah." Tifa said, poking at the ground with her feet as she walked. Absentmindedly, she started to brush at her cuticles with her nails. "I mean, I get that a lot of people hate you," she sent him a look that said, oddly enough, I don't hate you of course, but I'm not sure that I like you, "but... Everyone else is always asking for second chances, right? Seems kind of hypocritical to let a mishap, regardless of how big, ruin that for someone else."

He didn't say anything in response for a few minutes as they just wandered aimlessly through the small building. She wondered, bemused, if she'd finally won and shocked him into silence. Aside from that, her thoughts wandered to the building they were moving through. It had no windows, Tifa noticed, and that bothered her to some extent. Even if you didn't get outside much, _especially_ if you didn't get outside much, at least have some _windows_.

She voiced that thought, much to her dismay and embarrassment.

"What?" He questioned, looking at her a bit weirdly.

"Random thought?"

Wow, this was weird. Tifa Lockheart and Rufus Shinra having a (somewhat) normal conversation.

Better write it down somewhere.

"Why _are_ you here, anyway? Strictly curious." He asked. If she hadn't heard the sincerity in his voice, she may not have launched into her speech, but she did and so she told him.

And, she admitted, it felt good to just ramble on about something she herself didn't even truly understand. The more she spoke, the more she saw that. She never really understood Cloud, never really understood his situation and his sudden need to see their dead friend, never truly understood the negative impact he'd been having on her life. She'd grown attached and he'd grown distant -- all in a years short time.

'Some people aren't meant to be, I guess.' Tifa thought sadly.

But, as Yuffie might say, 'there's plenty of fish in the sea'.

"Maybe you're better off then." Rufus suddenly spoke, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Not that _I'd_ know, of course."

"No." Tifa replied quietly. "I think you're right. I am better off this way. He always left me waiting. It was just..." She shook her head. "If not for me, than for the kids." She finished resolutely, looking over at Rufus who, to her surprise, was watching her intently. When she saw, she looked away and felt her face heat up.

'I. Am. Not. Blushing. There's no reason to blush, so... I'm not.' She told herself, like a mantra in her head.

They had stopped in front of one of the larger windows (which, windows alone were scarce to find) and were leaning on the sill, carrying out their --_ friendly_ -- conversation while the sun warmed their faces. It was hardly even ten in the morning, she thought. A whole day ahead of her and already, it was looking up.

It didn't kill her to recognize Rufus as being the one who'd brightened it up considerably. And why, she thought. All he'd done was listened.

And not acted like an idiot.

She smiled lazily at her inane thoughts and looked down uncertainly at her hands. "Rufus?"

He looked back at her from his gaze on the birds swirling around in the air outside, a 'what?' look on his face.

"Thanks for listening."

"I'll can see quite a lot of people were unable to do so."

Cue gritting teeth and clenching fists. Counting to ten...

"Yeah, well..." She mumbled, standing and turning away.

"Not a comment on yourself." He corrected, striding up beside her.

"I'm sure."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, throwing his hands in the air. "Well, what would you like me to say? The words out of my mouth, be what they may, seem to send you into a fit of rage."

Tifa sighed -- forcefully. "I'm sorry."

"Doubtful."

"I am, okay!?"

They both cut off their steps and turned to face each other, glares abound.

'Jeez, good job Teef. Not that you're the only one, of course.'

She crossed her arms over her chest.

'Mostly his fault.'

He flicked that annoyingly _in the way_ piece of hair out of his eyes.

"Well, I have a lot to do and this," he gestured between them. "Isn't getting anything done except bore me to death."

'Ouch.' She thought. It must have shown on her face too, because he seemed to regret it and hesitate.

"Yeah, you go and, uh." She said, backing away, steps at a time, smile on her face, hands placed behind her back. "You go and finish whatever you need to do. Sorry for laying everything on you, it was..." She searched for the right word, but came up short. "Unfair."

He reached out and grabbed her arm then and she registered on only two of the words that came out of his mouth. "Why don't we go out?"

'Go out?'

"Rufus--"

He seemed to read her mind and raced to correct the misconception. "I do hope you understand the meaning of 'going outside'. Walking?" He made a motion with his hands and Tifa couldn't contain a giggle. He smiled -- again, a first from him -- and she couldn't help but notice those butterflies in her stomach as she watched him.

'_This_ could be bad.'

"Um, yeah, I guess so." She returned his smile.

"You should bring the kids along -- and Reno, Elena and Rude if you want. Those three hardly leave and the kids would probably want to." He added quickly.

She had to question the sudden benevolence. She didn't pick up on his rushed counterpart.

But as she watched him turn around, his hands in the pockets of that ungodly white coat he'd had forever, his eyes looking calm and serene and the smile on his face, she couldn't think of anything but how normal he looked to her. How normal their conversation was. How he listened to her without judgement -- well, partially. How he'd actually tried to remedy their little.. Quarrel.

He was so _different_ just now. Hopefully he'd stay that way, she thought, remembering their earlier spat.

She smiled and turned on her heel, quite entranced, to get ready and to tell the others while something that would have otherwise been unbelievable to her and everyone else was running through her mind.

Rufus Shinra, a friend?

_Indeed._

* * *


	17. Not a Date

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Seventeen - _Not_ A Date_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Tifa had walked back to the kitchen to inform Elena, Reno, Rude and the kids of their planned outing, to which Reno reacted with a jumpy gesture and an uncertain look.

"Really? He said he wants to go out for a walk?" He questioned, eyeing her suspiciously. "Fucking bastard--" a hand to the head, "I mean, god damned... Whatever. Let's get a move on then before he changes his fricken mind."

Denzel wandered out of the room with Reno, asking about what they were going to do and Tifa focused her gaze on the others. Elena smiled apologetically. "God, Teef, I'm sorry. He's got no self control around younger kids." She shook her head ruefully, before picking up where she left off. She threw dishes into the dishwasher quickly while Tifa chatted away with Marlene and Rude, before she grabbed her friend and dragged her out of the room.

"As comfortable as those are," Elena said, motioning to the sweat pants and tank top, "they won't suit you for outside!"

Tifa, bewildered, wondered why not. She wasn't one to worry much about her appearance in public. Obviously, Elena was one of the ones who did, which was fine, but honestly... She was comfortable right now!

"Elena, that's really not necessary!" She said as she was pushed into the small blond woman's room. At first glance it looked like any other room in the inn, but under closer inspection you could see the little things the younger woman had tried to do to spruce it up. It sent a warmth spilling through Tifa, though she couldn't say why.

Elena, meanwhile, rummaged around in her closet for something her friend could wear. In the end, she'd pulled out some capri pants and a loose t-shirt with yet another longer cut. Tifa changed into them, not bothering to protest, before she was once more ushered out of the room and down the hallway. The speed and urgency with which Elena was dragging her around alarmed Tifa.

"Elena, why are you trying to move so fast?" Elena faltered in her steps Tifa saw, but she said nothing after seeing Elena try to cover it up. It was obviously something Elena wasn't too keen on talking about. "You know, nevermind, it's--"

"It's just that, well... He doesn't go out often and most certainly not by his own wishes." Elena interjected, sighing unhappily. She glanced back over her shoulder and Tifa picked up on the woman's sadness. "That aside, I just don't like him going outside alone. He's always been... Ever since the Meteor incident and with everything that happened with Shinra, the people do everything they can to make his life miserable."

Tifa felt like there was something more she wanted to say.

Like, _and he thinks the same thing, that he deserves the punishment_.

"Elena, you... You know I forgive all of you right?"

Elena nodded and smiled appreciatively. "I know." _Thank you._

They continued walking in silence until they reached the front door, where Reno, Rude and the kids were situated.

"Well, where is he?" Elena asked, stopping in front of Reno. He looked down at her and frowned; he didn't know.

And then, his presence was suddenly make known, walking down the stairs, whistling happily, his usual air of professionalism surrounding him. His ice blue eyes were carefree and determined, something none of them saw too often. Tifa swallowed deeply, not used to the sight before her; he was donning clothing that didn't consist of a large white jacket and a suit. He was wearing khaki shorts and a shirt that was loose, but showed off his obvious upper body strength and muscle.

He looked...

'No. No, no, no. Bad thoughts.' Tifa flushed with the incoming thoughts.

He smirked at her and made his way out the door first, calling back to her. "Cat got your tongue? Or would that be me?"

He looked like an _arrogant jerk_.

Her temper, so easily summoned by him, flared dangerously. How was it that he was able to do this? She was in control of her emotions, not him.

She decided she would be the last to walk out and when her back was turned, she didn't see everyone walking off. Everyone but Rufus Shinra. Turning to the group she thought was still standing there, she instead found herself face to face with Rufus himself and jumped. He was dangerously close to her and the proximity was suddenly making her a tad lightheaded -- when she looked into his smoldering eyes, it didn't help her situation.

He smiled and took a step away from her. Good-naturedly, he held out his arm. "Where is it we're going?"

"Not this again." She said, brushing past him and trying to regain herself. He pulled himself up to stride with her quickly, his long legs an asset she wished he didn't have. She tried to focus on something else, anything else and found herself soon smiling on the figures of Reno and Elena, who were obviously in the throes of another lover's quarrel. Rude was urging the kids off to the side, away from the bickering pair and towards the ice cream stand Tifa used to visit everyday with them.

Rufus caught her warm smile and commented. "They're quite the sight."

She nodded. "Yeah, they are. I wish they'd just realize it already." To her disbelief, she sounded breathless.

Rufus seemed to go quiet beside her then and she looked up at him. He was staring at something and she followed his gaze to find... People. She frowned. They were watching him walk by, the hatred and disbelief shining clearly in their eyes. They watched her simply with disbelief and wonder -- _what's she doing with him?_ she could hear them ask.

It didn't bother her though -- any other day, she'd be surrounded by people who were grateful, amazed, star-struck. Even after all these years, people still hailed Avalanche as heroes and acted as though they weren't humans, but something entirely different. Saviors, celebrities, anything but themselves. It bothered Tifa because she just wanted a normal life, always she had. It seemed now, the normalcy was no longer attainable for her.

Perhaps for Rufus, it was the same.

She'd be damned if she let him wallow in it alone.

Wrapping her arm around his, she leaned against him and smiled up at him. He jerked away slightly, confused and not expecting the gesture, but returned her smile. Slowly, it manifested into a smirk. "Can't keep your hands off me?"

She scowled, but didn't let go. "Actually, I was showing these _people_ that they have no right to stare at you like that. You don't deserve it."

His eyes darkened and he looked away. She frowned. "Rufus, really. You can't possibly think..."

"I nearly destroyed the world with my impudence. They have every right to look on me like that."

"Well, you're wrong." She said, and with such sincerity and heartfeltness that she felt some sort of connection race through them as they stared at each other. "Everyone deserves a second chance, regardless of how bad their actions were. That includes you." She added, eyeing him pointedly.

He grinned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, get your mind out of the gutter."

"What are you implying I was thinking?"

"Well..." She trailed off, stopping in her tracks. Did she just...? She searched the crowd in front of her for a moment and caught a figure dressed in dark blue moving through towards her. Panic exploded in her chest. "He... He can't be coming here...?"

"What is it?" Rufus asked, looking just a little concerned.

"Nothing." She said, pulling away from him and stepping backwards. She sent him a worried look mixed with frustration when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"You know, you're not supposed to end dates like this." He joked, trying to follow her line of vision. Uncharacteristic, but then his heart wasn't exactly in it.

Her eyes narrowed as she took the bait he'd set for her. "This is _not_ a date."

"Ah." Rufus said, his voice filled with sudden enlightenment and amusement. "Strife. Running from him?"

She averted her gaze before she knew what she was doing. "I'm not running from anything." She mumbled. She looked up at him with renewed urgency. "Look, Rufus, I don't want to talk with him, okay? Can we -- or I -- just... Go somewhere else..."

He looked around them at the impossibly crowded street before setting his gaze back on Cloud, who was suddenly walking towards them a lot faster. "He seems pretty set on seeing you."

"Then I guess I'll just have to outrun him." Tifa said. For a second he thought she was joking, but looking at her, he could see the glint in her eye and the rigidity of her body. She was tense -- obviously, a confrontation wasn't what she wanted and she was determined to skip it.

"You can't be serious?"

"Watch me."

And she took off. She pushed through the crowd speedily and Rufus hesitated for a split second before following her. _What a day _this_ is_, he thought, catching up with her quite easily. "Why..." He breathed, looking to the side. "Are we running?"

"Well, _I'm_ running because I don't want to see him -- and I'm not 'running away', per se, I'm just... I'm just not ready to deal with him right now, okay? He's caused enough damage and I'm tired of it." She glanced over at him. "As for you, well..."

"Who the hell knows?"

"I guess so."

He laughed -- and she watched as he loosened up a bit. She could imagine he hadn't been looking forward to this, but she was glad he was, for once, letting go. "You're a strange one." He said.

"I could say the same about you." She yelled back, grinning and also letting herself go. She hadn't gotten this kind of exercise -- this kind of _freedom_ -- in a while. The last time she'd been on the battlefront was a year ago and she could slowly feel her strength and energy seep away as quickly as she'd built it up again. God, she missed it -- travelling the world, meeting new people, engaging in fights and letting out all her energy...

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the food stand in front of her until she was close to running straight into it. By then, a flip would've been too close and dangerous and running around it would hinder her. Walking would do the same. She felt a sort of anomaly in her legs and wondered, for a brief second, what she was going to do.

Her question was answered seconds later. Roughly, she was pushed to the side and she fell to the ground in a heap in an alleyway she hadn't seen. She then felt herself being pushed backwards by someone who'd awkwardly landed on top of her. Opening her mouth to say something -- protest, argue, _something_ -- that someone clamped their hand over her mouth and pushed her down against the floor when they'd made it into the darker part of the alley, laying on top of her and whispering something in her ear.

"You should watch where you're going you know, I simply can't understand how you lived this long if you aren't running into walls all day long." He chuckled in her ear and Tifa narrowed her eyes at the slowly brightening blue ones above her; Rufus. As an afterthought, he said, "here's to hoping Strife didn't see it. Though with his brains..."

Tifa remembered why they'd been running then and she tensed. Rufus whispered for her to watch over his shoulder for him, seeing as how his eyes would obviously be spotted by Cloud. She tucked the startlingly new information in her head -- since when did he have glowing eyes? She looked over and her breathing stopped when she saw Cloud standing at the edge, just almost right past the alley, looking around and searching. She could've sworn his eyes caught hers, but in a moment he was gone.

Letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, she let herself slump to the ground. "Too close..."

"Indeed."

Tifa only then realized the position they were in. Squirming a bit, she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed lightly, a sign she wanted him to move. He moved an arm up and laid his eblow down beside her ear, laying his cheek on the palm of his hand. "You want me to move?"

"Don't sound so surprised." She deadpanned.

He chuckled. "On the contrary."

* * *


	18. Traitorous

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Eighteen - Traitorous_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. However, these words are mine.

* * *

"Rufus." Tifa said sternly, giving him the look that told him to get off her and _now_.

"Yes, yes... Breathe a little." He muttered, pushing himself up. Standing, he brushed his clothes off before holding out a hand to help her up. He smiled brightly and said, "who knew Tifa Lockheart was such a prude?"

That earned him a kick to the gut.

Tifa wondered if perhaps she should just top it all off right now and make herself feel better, but decided against it. They needed to get back to their group they'd so conveniently forgot about, or rather, left behind. The kids, that were hers, that she'd left with her three friends. Her three friends who probably hadn't wanted to spend their day looking after two children. How often did they get out, after all?

"I was simply stating my educated opinion."

"Keep it to yourself next time. It might be less painful."

Slowly they walked side by side, down the winding road towards where they both believed the rest of their company to be. Tifa, still on edge from the almost-true encounter with Cloud, glanced around often, checking for signs that he might have circled back around. She felt bad for running from him, but she wasn't ready to see him. She wasn't ready to talk to him and to tell him the decision she'd made about... Them.

She didn't want to go back to it. She wanted to live life the way she always say herself living it when she was younger and growing up. She wanted to be free, to have a family and to spend her days settled down, doing what she loved.

Sometimes she wondered if such a thing was really possible.

"There they are." Rufus stated, motioning with his head towards their five companions. "Having a much better time then we are."

Tifa smiled vaguely, looking up at him. "I'm sorry."

He merely shrugged it off, proving himself, once more, difficult to read.

She wished he'd stop doing that.

Elena saw them first, when she turned her head towards oncoming footsteps. Her face brightened visibly at seeing them safe and sound, but Tifa caught a glimpse of something else in her eyes; mischief, curiosity... Tifa shook her head at Elena, trying to dismiss Elena's thoughts, but Elena only smiled wider.

"I'm sorry we left you here. We, uh... I saw someone and..." Tifa huffed slightly, not happy with how she was suddenly acting, trying to cover something up like she was guilty! She was not some babbling schoolgirl... "What are our plans?"

Elena giggled a bit. "I don't know Tifa, what _are_ your plans?" She looked between Rufus and Tifa pointedly. Tifa couldn't stop the blush that spread through her cheeks.

"Elena!" Tifa protested.

She only continued to laugh.

Rufus looked on the whole exchange with a blank face, but when he caught Tifa's eyes, she saw the corner of his mouth turn up in a want-to-be smirk. Tifa sent him a heated glare and turned to crouch down in front of Marlene and Denzel. "What do you guys want to do?" She asked them. If the other four wanted to go off and do things, that was fine, but she was ready to do whatever the kids wanted to do. This was more for them than for her, anyways.

"Ummmm..." Marlene thought aloud.

Denzel pumped his fist into the air. "Can we go and eat and then maybe go look around in the stores...?"

Tifa nodded, smiling. "Sure, I don't see why not." She glanced over and up at the four standing behind her. "You guys don't need to come if you don't want to. Do what you want today, alright?" She looked back over at the kids and ruffled Marlene's hair playfully. "I'll take care of these two for the day."

Marlene looked up at Rufus excitedly. "Mr. Rufus, do you want to come with us!?"

Tifa had to force herself not to roll her eyes, groan in unhappiness and keep her eye from twitching.

And the worst part, she thought as Marlene smiled at Tifa innocently, was that she knew Marlene was doing this on purpose.

It wouldn't have been the first time.

Rufus chuckled under his breath just enough for Tifa to hear and her temper flared again at his arrogance. Over-confident jerk.

"Why not?" He said. He turned to face the three behind him. "And please..." He eyed all of them. "Don't get so drunk that you accidentally kill each other. Especially you two." He looked pointedly at Reno and Elena. Both opened their mouths to protest.

"Hey, what do you mean by that!?" Elena outraged.

"Why do you think I'd get drunk, boss?" Reno drawled.

"Right." Rufus sighed. "Let's leave them to it, shall we?"

* * *

"So, what do you guys want?" Tifa asked the two jittering children -- they both looked entirely too energetic all of a sudden.

She was perturbed by her own sudden behaviour change, too, and the way she suddenly felt nice and safe and a kind of happy-bordering-on-bubbly, having the kids beside her and... Having Rufus there with them. Tifa narrowed her eyes subconsciously. He was becoming... He was just... He was always _there_ now. He was always beside her, near her, in her head...

And she found she didn't mind.

In fact, she... Liked it.

And that alone was beginning to scare her. She'd trusted Cloud before, when he'd made her feel this way. It hadn't progressed or ended the way she'd always dreamed it might and she'd been hurt. Really hurt. She didn't want that again. She wrapped her arms around herself and waited for the children to tell her what they wanted, resolving to think about everything she was feeling later on when she had some peace and quiet.

"I would likeee..."

"Hmmm..."

The kids told her what they wanted and walked off with their food, sitting down on a bench outside the store. Tifa stayed back and tried to find something she wanted, but found herself quickly losing her appetite as her thoughts continued to reel through her mind. In the end, she merely ordered herself a fruit smoothie and walked outside to join the children. Rufus opted to get nothing and followed.

Sitting down, Tifa sighed and smiled, enjoying the feeling of the sun. It was so beautiful out...

But instead of focusing on the scenery, she was watching Rufus. He had a faraway look on his face, his eyes looking somewhere over her shoulder. His body was relaxed, which was an odd and very rare sight to see. She was drawn into the thought of what it might be like to be sitting in the circle of his strong arms, just enjoying the day _with_ him... And she nearly choked on her drink. 'What!?' She stood quickly, jerking the table a bit. It broke him out of his reverie and he looked up at her with a weird look on his face.

"What is it?"

"I...I... I need to... Go to the bathroom!"

"Wanting company?" He asked slyly, grinning.

Tifa glared and managed to get from under the table without breaking something. "No." She bit out. Turning and walking away, she almost rushed into the store and further into the bathroom. Closing and locking the door, as there was only a single stall, she leaned against it and sighed, breathing in deeply afterwards. She moved forward to examine herself in the mirror.

Her face was flushed.

* * *

Rufus watched, amused, as Tifa made her way into the store. Her face had been flushed before she'd struggled to get away and, since he knew Cloud wasn't behind him where she was looking (or rather, _at_ him), he couldn't help but feel a gentle ego boost.

Of course, that wasn't enough to completely distract him from the person he'd been watching over Tifa's shoulder. Standing solemnly, anger written across his features, was the same person he and Tifa had been running from earlier; Cloud Strife. He'd looked quite tense when Rufus has first seen him, but compared to now? He'd been looking rather lazy...

The aforementioned male began to walk forward to the table he and the kids were sitting at. In a simple act of wanting to get the kids out of there before they had to witness the obvious dispute about to take place, Rufus told them to go and get a head start on browsing the stores. They stood excitedly and rushed away faster than he'd thought any normal child could, but hey... They were gone and that had been his objective.

Cloud was walking forward faster now. Pairs of icy blue eyes followed the other as Cloud sat down, looking ready to snap.

Cloud spoke first. "What are you doing here with Tifa and _our_ kids?" He growled menacingly.

Rufus waved his hand a bit dismissively and flicked a piece of hair out of his eyes, retaining an aloof disposition. "Why, we're just having a friendly outing."

"A friendly outing, huh?"

"Mhm..."

"Stay away from them." Cloud said, with no room for argument. Rufus, of course, never took the easy road...

"If she asks me to leave her alone, I'll do it. But, you, my friend, as they say, are not the boss of me."

Cloud's eyes flashed dangerously and leaned forward a bit. "When it comes to my family, Shinra, I _am_ the boss of you." With that, he stood and he began to walk away. Rufus kept his eyes on the pretentious blond the entire time until he was completely out of sight.

Tifa walked out then, her face pale. "Rufus." She started when she got there. "What did he say to you? I'm so sorry..." She began to ramble, but Rufus held up a hand, a signal telling her to stop. He shook his head at her and stood.

"It doesn't matter what he said--"

"Rufus--"

"No." He said, eyeing her. "We're supposed to be enjoying the day, if you forgot. So don't worry about the little boy and let's go and find the kids and finish this day off on a good note."

Despite his words, she looked worried, guilty and fearful all at the same time. For some reason, it bothered him. A lot. He took her arm and led her away from the area, deeper into town. Was she really that scared of Strife? What exactly would he do, if that was even the reason? He narrowed his eyes a bit at the thought before dismissing it. It was more than likely just the power she thought he might still have over her. Regardless, if she didn't want him near her...

"Look." He said, stopping her and turning her to face him. "If you don't want him near you, then he won't be, alright? You don't need to worry about him. I'll make sure he can't get near you or the kids as long as you need."

Her eyes filled with warmth and his heart started beating just that little bit faster and his stomach jolted. She smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

He nodded, steeling himself against her. "Let's go."

...What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

The day passed by incredibly fast as the kids darted from store to store, picking up all kinds of different things and showing them off to Tifa and Rufus happily. In the end, they managed to walk away with quite a bit, courtesy of Rufus to Tifa's dismay and as they were heading back, things seemed to quieten down for the day. The sun was still in the sky, but in the process of setting and Tifa felt like she should be doing the same. She hadn't had a day like this in a long time; staying out with the kids and roaming around the streets of Midgar. She was exhausted.

However, something was robbing her attention and had been for a while, directing her thoughts to anywhere but how tired she was. Ever since the incident with Cloud, Rufus had closed himself off from her, giving her one word replies and offering no questions or small-talk and it was really beginning to get under her skin. Had she done something? Had Cloud said something to him? If so, what? He seemed fine with the kids, thankfully.

She glanced over at him uncertainly. His face was unreadable -- no emotion visible whatsoever. He was exceptionally good at hiding what he felt, she noticed, though she supposed it was a talent honed over many years. With a father like President Shinra (or ex) she could only guess what he might've had to go through as a child. She remembered the older man and his ways of ruling through fear -- had he done the same with his own son?

'Everyone in this world,' Tifa thought, 'has been corrupted, it seems.' The thought only brought her down further in her despair, as she thought of all the things she _had_ had as a child herself that, apparently, many she knew didn't.

Eventually, they were finally coming upon the Inn. Their co-inhabitants happened to meet them halfway.

"Yo!" Reno called out, jogging over to where Tifa and her company were standing, waiting for them. Rude followed up calmly. Laying on Reno's back with her face nestled into the crook of his neck, was Elena. Reno's breathing was only slightly labored despite the fact that he was carrying the one hundred and so pounds of his best friend on his back.

"What happened to her?" Tifa asked, walking closer towards him. She brushed back a bit of blond hair that was in her eyes and looked up at Reno, questioningly.

"We're not sure actually." He responded, turning his head to try and a look at her. She was completely and totally dead to the world. "I think she might be sick. Or maybe she was drinkin' something behind our backs, eh Rude?"

Rude simply fixed him with a stare.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm takin' her in." Reno stated, walking through the doors first, Rude holding them open. They were gone in a matter of seconds.

"Well." Tifa said, blinking. Worry gnawed at her as she wondered what was wrong with her friend, but she put on a smile and pushed it away -- she'd deal with it later. "How about I get you two," she eyed the kids pointedly, "ready for bed."

"It's not bedtime yet, though..." Denzel said.

"I know. I said 'ready' for bed."

Denzel acknowledged his defeat and started to make his way up to the house. Marlene followed, eyes already drooping. Walking around in the sunlight all day sure could take it out of you. Once they were inside, Tifa turned to Rufus, who was walking towards her, expressionless.

When he brushed right past her without a word or glance, Tifa snapped.

"Hey!" She yelled, stomping her foot on the ground in annoyance. "What the hell is this about?"

Rufus stopped almost immediately and turned to face her, his eyes cold. "What the hell is 'what' about?"

Tifa threw her arms into the air. "Did Cloud say something to you? Did _I_ say something to you? Why are you suddenly not talking to me?" He was so... So _aggravating_! She wasn't helping this situation either -- whether she wanted to or not, she was thinking about him constantly. And even more so now that he wasn't speaking to her! And she didn't want that!

She didn't want him to shut himself off from her...

And neither did he. But by the gods, she was dragging emotions and feelings out of him that he'd never experienced before and he didn't particularly feel like acknowledging their existence. She was changing him, slowly but surely.

He didn't want to admit that it scared him, but it did.

"I don't have time for this meaningless conversation." He said, but he didn't look her in the eye as he said it. Tifa took that as a sign that he really meant it, instead of what it really was.

"You're such a bastard." She hissed, brushing right past him. She made her way up the stairs and halfway through the door before she halted for a single second. "You don't have to worry. I'll be out of your hair tomorrow."

And with that, she was gone.

* * *


	19. Beginnings

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Nineteen - Beginnings_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or the rest of the compilation. It all belongs to Square Enix. This situation and these words, however, are mine.

* * *

Breathing deeply, Tifa walked quickly through the hallways of the Inn, wondering how she'd ever managed to decide to trust him even the tiniest bit. She should've known he'd revert back to his old ways -- cold, pretentious and everything that came with it all. Of course, through all her thinking and through all the hurt that she couldn't deny she was feeling, she wanted to know why he'd so suddenly turned on her. She hadn't done anything wrong, had she?

She didn't _want_ him to be angry with her, whatever the cause.

She didn't want to leave, either, she thought as she remembered her last words to Rufus. But she would have to -- the kids would pick up on the tension that was bound to be between them now and she couldn't have that.

Tears brimmed in her eyes and she couldn't summon the energy to brush them away or forcefully stop the emotion from surfacing. She just kept walking, mindless of the shadows that played along the walls in the dimly lit building. She had seen the kids looking after Elena with both Reno and Rude and had made the split second decision to take a few minutes for herself; she didn't think that Reno or Rude would mind, but if they did, she'd make it up to them somehow.

Her steps slowed as she reached a familiar door -- the room right beside the kids, where she'd go to speak with her friends or let out all of her frustration. She needed to do neither now. She needed to do something entirely different this time. She needed to cry. She could feel years worth of buried feelings rise through her body and swim around in her head, giving her both a headache and a play-through of all of her mistakes, her grievances, her personal problems she never had the time to properly deal with.

Pushing open the door, she sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the tears trail down her cheeks.

Everything was getting so hard to deal with -- did the pain ever end? She couldn't help but wonder if, after all of this, she deserved _some_ sort of happiness?

And that was when she realized she wasn't alone.

* * *

Rufus swallowed the angry tinged-with-something-he-couldn't-decipher look Tifa shot him with his own guilt at having said what he had to her. It has just... Slipped out. He knew it was an excuse, but it made him feel a little bit better about it all. Truthfully, it had only really been a last minute decision, and what a stupid decision it was. He, Rufus Shinra, was scared of a little feeling?

Well, yes, he admitted. He was, apparently. He was scared to feel something for someone -- especially a woman like Tifa Lockheart -- and happen to lose it all in the end. It wasn't that she was inadequate, that he was inadequate; it was the simple fact that Tifa obviously had a lot of emotional issues and while he longed to help her, his pride refused and further, he didn't want to become entangled in the quarrel separating herself and Cloud.

He was also just confused.

That was a bit simpler to digest, he thought miserably, walking through the Inn to his upstairs office. Office and room, he added, disgusted with the fact. Though, he shouldn't have been.

It was his choice, after all, to stay here.

He couldn't think of why, or how, he would ever deserve for anything more. He'd neither earned anything more, nor was he entitled to one. After all the chaos he'd put the waiting world at his feet through, he was sickened to the core to think about going back to his old living habits.

He'd asked the others to leave, but they'd refused.

Adamantly.

That, of course, only strengthened his guilt.

... He was just as bad as Lockheart, it seemed.

His mood was suddenly dampened even more at the thought of her, who was probably downstairs fuming and cursing his soul into every kind of hell. He couldn't and wouldn't blame her; he'd do the same, he figured, if he were in her shoes right now. She didn't want to go back to Cloud, that much was obvious, or at least for now. So, virtually, she had no where else to stay. That in itself bothered him.

And convinced him he needed to go down to see her and apologize for his idiocy.

That merely bothered him more.

* * *

A figure was situated in the corner of the room, swathed in the darkness of the room. Her muscles tensed immediately at her first sight of him and only tensed further when she realized who it was. At first the thought of Vincent flitted through her head, given by the unusual position of the corner, but she knew he would never show up in her room unexpectedly like that -- he was too much of a gentleman for such a thing. No, it was...

"Cloud." She stated, angry. How dare he just think he could waltz into the room like that? "Why are you here? _How_ are you here, is a better question." She flicked the light switch and watched as he was illuminated, exposing the features of his face; a mixture of anger, confusion and despair.

She mirrored the expression.

He stood slowly and took a few steps toward her. "Why are _you_ here, Tifa? With _Rufus Shinra_? You _do_ remember what he tried to do to you, right? You and Barret?" His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he continued on to answer her question. "I'm here because I need to be here. It wasn't hard to find your room either."

"You don't _need_ to be here." Tifa snapped. "You just need to question me on something that's no longer any of your business."

His eyes flashed with an insurmountable amount of rage. "My family is my business."

"Oh, so you suddenly care to come back to your "family"?"

* * *

Unaware of the events taking place elsewhere, Rufus slid himself past the glass door of the shower and stepped underneath the scalding hot water, feeling the tension of the day slip away slowly with each rivulet of water that trailed across his skin.

"Tifa Lockheart." He muttered, grabbing the soap. "Causing me nothing but endless trouble."

He'd made his decision, though to do anything but would be unacceptable.

He would go to see her after his shower.

He would _apologize_.

And then he would continue on his merry way of pushing her buttons.

* * *

Cloud's eyes dimmed with both hurt and intense sadness. Tifa knew what he was thinking of now -- his inability to find and get closer to Aerith's spirit. After that fateful day of fighting the three Sephiroth look-alikes and then Sephiroth himself, Cloud hadn't heard her voice, hadn't felt her guiding presence... She was gone, she'd tried to tell him, but he refused to listen.

He loved her.

And he needed her, for whatever reason.

Now, she was ready to let him have all the time he ever needed searching for her.

This was finished.

This _game._

"I never stopped caring."

Tifa scoffed, brushing past him to the bedside, sitting herself down; she was shaking, shaking so badly and she couldn't even explain to herself why. It was just Cloud, she'd been around him more than she could care to count. Maybe it was just because she was making a life-altering decision, to change the old ways of her situation with him and enter into unknown territory. Being alone. Just her and the kids.

Alone. It had always been something she feared, but... She needed it now. She yearned for it even, now that she thought about it.

"You call leaving for months at a time caring? Not calling to see how we were? Leaving me with next to nothing? I could just barely provide for the children you profess to care about!" Tifa whispered heatedly, hardly believing what she was hearing. How could he just stand there and justify his actions like that?

It was then Tifa finally understood how little she really knew about him.

She didn't know how his mind worked.

She didn't understand how his heart worked.

She never truly realized how different he was from what she thought she saw.

Cloud didn't budge. "I do care, whether you see it or not."

Tifa squeezed her eyes shut and clenched his fists around the bedspread. "Get out." She said, leaving no room for argument. Cloud, of course, never listened to reason.

"Tifa-"

"_Please_, Cloud. _Leave_." She repeated, more forcefully. She stood and walked past him towards the door, opening for him. Not once did she raise her eyes to his. "Go. We'll talk about this some other time. I can't deal with the right now."

She heard him walk towards her and slightly past her, but she felt him stop, felt his hand touch her arm and she jerked away.

"Go." She whispered.

He sighed. "Later, then." Giving up, he left.

Giving up, she cried.

* * *

Rufus was mentally reviewing what he figured he should say.

'So, Tifa, I was just being a dumbass earlier and-'

No.

No, he still had some amount of dignity, he decided. Just a little.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair only to became more annoyed with the still-wet strands. There was this little piece that was just _always in his eyes_--

"Ran right off the track there." He muttered, narrowing his eyes. He was feeling... Nervous. Nervous at what he would say, at how she would respond, whether he'd have to run for cover from the martial artist... Many scenario's ran through his head and he wasn't used to it. Women were too complicated, he decided. They made people -- sorry, _men_ -- think.

Reaching the door too soon, he rolled his eyes and rapped his knuckles against the wood, composing himself outwardly. He heard scuffles of movement on the other side of the door and he could see her scrambling to tidy the room up hastily. He was rewarded with knowing he was right when the door swung open, the woman in question a little breathless.

Of course, that didn't last long.

Upon seeing it was him, her eyes narrowed, her muscles tensed, her mouth set and she swung the door shut in his face; quite the series of events to happen in a single second. He hadn't missed the fact that her eyes were red and puffy, a tell tail sign she'd been crying.

His stomach fell to his toes at that and he scrambled to pick it back up.

She'd been crying.

Normally, such a thing wouldn't faze him, but for some reason he wished she hadn't been.

Wished he'd been able to make her smile, instead.

The thought made him want to turn around and run the other way, but he stayed through an act of pure will power. Clearing his throat he readied himself to speak, but the door was swung open again and suddenly, she was right up in his face.

"What are you doing back here?" She asked, poking a finger at his chest. "If you're going to ask me why I'm not gone yet, well, I'm getting there so no need to worry-"

He grabbed her wrist when she moved to walk right by him. Then he was stuck. He still didn't know what to say and he was even more tongue-tied than before with the knowledge that she'd been crying. Presumably over what he'd said to her.

She turned around to face him in his grip and she was suddenly a lot more aware of how strong he was and how much taller he was than her. It was intimidating to say the least, being in such close quarters with him.

And it made her stomach squirm skittishly.

"Tifa, I-" He started, but cut himself off, frowning. She titled her head to the side, anger still evident in her eyes, but she was listening. That was what he'd wanted, right? Now to not make a fool of himself...

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't... Mean it." The words tumbled out of his mouth in a rush. He looked away to the side.

Tifa's expression softened a bit, but she still didn't waver in the fact that she was angry at what he'd said, over what she _still_ wasn't sure. But she knew that for Rufus Shinra, apologizing was probably not a strong point and probably didn't happen often. "Why did you say it? Why were you acting the way you were?" She asked, exasperation slipping in with a little bit of hurt.

'_Oh shit_', he thought.

"Freedom of speech, sweetheart." He said sarcastically. She narrowed her eyes instantly and turned, walking back into her room. She left the door open though, so he assumed he was somewhat forgiven.

A question begged to be released from the confines of his mind and his throat, but he wasn't sure how to ask. Or if he really wanted to know the answer. But since when had Rufus ever been afraid of anything?

"Were you... Crying?" He asked uneasily.

This was touchy subject for him.

Images flashed through his mind, of his mother; crying because of yet another thing his father had either said or done to her. More than likely, it was the latter. The experience of watching his mother go through that as a child had made him vulnerable to women crying. Especially because of him.

He blood boiled at the memories, at his father.

He would _never_ be like him.

Tifa seemed to freeze at the question. She had been caught. She was quiet for a few minutes, bustling around the room, but she eventually turned to look at him. Sighing, she sank down onto the bed, crawling over the middle and motioning for him to join her. They sat side by side, facing the wall and she told him.

"Yes, I was. I, uh... Cloud came here." She said quietly, glancing up at him. He just kept staring at a single spot on the wall, but she was sure he was listening. "He said he wanted to talk to me, so we talked and..." She trailed off.

A silence stretched on for a few minutes until Rufus broke it.

"Did he hurt you?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, no." She looked up at him again. "He left when I asked him to, but he still wants to talk."

Rufus nodded slightly and looked down at her.

Tifa, caught unaware, was drawn into his eyes. They were such an icy blue, like ice, but filled with so much emotion, much of it concealed, but... She knew it was all there. He was looking back at her so intensely and she wondered what might happen next. Rufus, too, felt himself slowly drowning in her gaze, many doors suddenly unlocking themselves to him. He searched them for something, he didn't know what... And before he realized what he was doing, they were so close... He could feel her quickening breath on his cheek and he watched as she looked from his eyes, to his mouth, back again... Eyes falling slowly closed...

He closed the distance between them, softly touching her cheek and pulling her closer to him.

The butterflies were running rampant in her stomach now but when his lips descended upon hers, they were quelled. His lips were impossibly soft and _sweet. _Gently, he nibbled on her lower lip before returning back to her lips, with much more fervor than before. Subconsciously, she slid her hands up along his chest and wound them around his neck.

They were both caught up in the moment.

And it ended too soon.

Breathless, they pulled back in need of air, but his hands were still cupping her cheeks and her arms were still around his neck.

She raised her eyes up to meet his, uncertain about what had just happened. "What was that?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

He was quiet for a few moments, seeming to consider her question.

"I don't know."

* * *


	20. Arrivals

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty - Arrivals_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. It all belongs to Square Enix. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

The kiss seemed to suddenly spark a lot more than previously felt by both parties -- and they certainly were aware of it. Rufus seemed to take pleasure in watching her squirm under his gaze now and used it all to his advantage. It was the best way he could deal with it all without letting it get the best of him. Tifa couldn't help but feel like avoiding him; it was an unexpected move and it pushed her past her limit in terms of relationships at the moment. Cloud was enough. However, she made no move to stop from participating in Rufus' banter.

The other members of the household, as much of one that it was, noticed the change immediately.

Especially their newest arrival.

"What's up 'tween you and this little Jackass Jr.?" Barret asked, a glint in his eyes that told her quite simply that he planned to get to the bottom of the whole story. Tifa masked it all as best as she could -- she didn't want him to know and she certainly didn't want anyone else knowing through him, either. Smiling, she twirled the straw in her drink as they sat together, alone, in the kitchen.

"Nothing, there's nothing. I just needed a place to stay and Elena was nice enough to let me in here."

He didn't look as though he believed her and she didn't blame him. If she were him, she'd be telling her how much of a liar she was. But, alas, he let it go for the moment.

"How's Marlene been? Causing any trouble?" He asked, smiling faintly. She smiled back at him.

"She's been great." This morning there had been a knock at the door and Marlene had flown down the stairs, almost as though she knew and was expecting whoever it was on the other side. And she had been -- there had been no look of surprise in her eyes. It had been a while since she'd gotten to see her father, as he was so busy trying to get things moving in Corel. Once it was all finished, he was going to be taking Marlene back home and despite her attachment to both Tifa and Denzel, she was waiting for the day with an eager patience.

Now, Tifa on the other hand had been surprised to see him.

'Couldn't be because you have had your mind on another certain somebody...?' She thought idly, losing herself in the implications of the words. Rufus Shinra -- the last person she'd expected to feel something for, but she could no longer deny that she felt _something_. The kiss they'd shared had set it in motion and ignited a sudden passion between the two of them and it was becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

Similar to the way she couldn't ignore _him_ -- in her thoughts, whenever she saw him around the inn...

He was there. She was living with him.

They were growing closer, even though everything in her told her it would be a bad idea to get involved with someone like him. The way he worked could be disastrous to her state of mind, after everything she'd already had to deal with. Would she be willing to take the step into a new relationship where she could possibly be hurt as much as Cloud had hurt her? It was something she thought of everyday and something she could never come up with an answer for.

'Getting a little ahead of yourself, there.' She thought. 'You don't think _for_ Rufus!'

"The brat phoned me earlier. She thinks there's a little more goin' on then she knows..." Barret continued, striking up the topic once more.

Tifa stood from her seat at the table and put her now empty glass in the sink. "Come on Barret, no. Nothing's going on." She turned to face him, only to find the extremely skeptical look on his face. "Really!" She laughed.

"Jus'... I don't want you gettin' hurt again. Cloud's done a number on you and you don't deserve nothin' like that."

Tifa smiled sadly. "Yeah, I know Barret. And I appreciate your concern, but I'm really fine. And even if something _were_ going on--" Barret raised an eyebrow. "Which there _isn't_..." She added, hammering the point home, or so she hoped. "I would be careful. I would."

Barret sighed, reluctantly accepting her words. Standing, he joined her by the sink and added his own empty glass to the growing pile -- something Tifa figured she should probably get to -- and stayed to relay one last message to her. "Look, Teef. You're like another daughter to me and I can bet Cid would say the same. If anythin' starts goin' wrong, you're welcome to come to Corel or anyone else's place. We don't mind and we don't see ya often enough."

"I'm sorry about that." Tifa said, twirling a lock of her hair. "I should've made more of an effort to get out there, but with Cloud gone I just... I was just trying to hang on to something I never had in the first place, I guess."

"Yeah, well. Nobody blames you. We know what Cloud can be like an'... Just be careful." He eyed her intently before turning and leaving her alone in the room with her head full of thoughts.

* * *

Rufus, bored with himself and his lack of anything to do, walked through the hallway slowly. Though he didn't dare admit it out loud, he knew he was hoping to run into Tifa -- she was just too easy and too fun to tease. Ever since their last climatic run-in together, she'd been cautious around him and he found, much to his delight, she couldn't help but to squirm under his gaze. It seemed petty, but to him it was just another added bonus. Quarrelling with Lockheart has always been fun.

Now it was just beyond entertaining.

Ahead of him, he saw one of her friends, the larger man Barret, walk out from the kitchen and into the hallway and then turn to walk in the direction Rufus was coming from.

'Lovely', he thought.

Even since this character had joined them at the Inn, Rufus had been receiving nothing but scathing glares from every corner of his living quarters. 'And isn't that just it. _My_ living quarters.' He'd played around with the thought of kicking him out after the first day but decided not to.

_You just don't want to upset Lockheart_, a voice in his head taunted.

He denied the thought before it even had the chance to run its course through his mind.

This particular occasion of sharing heated looks seemed to be even more intense than usual and while Rufus didn't let it show, he was, for once in his life, a little bit intimidated by the man. He looked ready to unleash bloody hell.

"Bloody hell indeed." Rufus muttered under his breath once Barret had passed him and rounded the corner. He continued on his way and walked through the kitchen doorway to find Tifa where he figured she'd be. He'd tried, several times actually, to tell her she needn't bother with anything she deemed 'housework' but she'd once again decided to pretend the words hadn't ever left his mouth.

"Have I done something wrong?" Rufus asked, walking towards her.

Tifa turned her body to look at him and raised her eyebrows in question. "Sorry?"

"Your friend."

"Did he say something to you?" She asked, pulling her soapy hands out of the dish water and drying them with the towel. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked at him guiltily, not giving him a chance to answer. "I'm really sorry if he's said or done anything. He's just very... Protective of me."

"I can see that. I'm being glared at like there's no tomorrow."

She frowned. "I'll talk to him about it later." Silently, she went back to work at cleaning the piles of dishes. Rufus rolled his eyes.

"I told you you didn't need to do this."

"Are you here for something in particular?" She asked, clearly ignoring him.

"Unbelievable." He muttered, snatching up the dish towel and taking the dishes from her hand and the sink.

She smiled lightly, though he couldn't see it. 'He's sweet, sometimes.' And she tensed. She didn't just think it. She didn't.

"Something wrong?" He asked, moving closer and smirking knowingly. She scowled in response and splashed water at him.

"That's something we like to call _immaturity_." He said, but she could see he was having a hard time concealing his building smile.

"Yeah, right. That's why you're trying so hard not to smile." She giggled. "Besides, it only makes you look more ridiculous. Maybe you'll finally realize it." Eyeing the small piece of hair that bothered her so much, she dipped her hand in the water again. "You know--" She started.

"Yes, I _do_ know everything. Thank you."

"And you say _I'm_ immature!" She exclaimed, taking his arm lightly and turning him to face her. She moved closer, close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek and lifted her arm to tackle that _annoying little piece of hair _with her wet hand. Putting it in place out of his face, she stepped back and sighed. It was only then she noticed how he was looking at her and what she'd just done. A furious blush spread across her cheeks and she huffed. "What? It was bothering me..." She turned back to the sink.

Rufus, grinning, asked, "what else bothers you, I wonder?"

She sent him a look that he should shut up and leave her be, but of course she was rewarded with something entirely different. He could feel him behind her before his arms came to rest on the counter on either side of her. She turned around quickly, caught unaware, ready to push him away, but he was so close to her and she was instantly caught up in the moment. He was watching her, a small smile gracing his lips and she knew he was teasing her -- but she couldn't deny the sudden hypersensitivity of her skin and her legs seeming to turn to jelly, all in a single second or being within his arms.

"Rufus...?" She whispered, not thinking. And then it clicked.

"Yes?"

"You know..." She said seductively, running her hands over the hardened muscles under his shirt, up to his shoulders until she was entwining her arms around his neck and lifting herself up onto her toes. Lightly, she caught his lips with her own and she breathed in his scent, intensifying their proximity and making it harder to concentrate. "We could always take this somewhere more..." She continued, running kisses down his neck. "Private?" She finished, pressing herself flush against him.

He was watching her closely, every move she made and for a second she wondered if maybe...?

But then he was pushing her up against the counter and there was nothing but the feel of his hands, roaming over her sides and cupping her face gently and the taste of his lips eagerly taking hers for his own.

Taking control, she pushed him backwards until the back of his legs met with one of the kitchen chairs and he let himself fall into it, taking Tifa with him. She went without a fuss and nearly let herself go entirely. Straddling his hips, she felt his hand beginning to snake under her shirt and she allowed him that little taste before she pulled back and had both of his hands clasped in hers.

"Tifa?" Someone called from the doorway -- Barret. He looked upon the scene with wide, disbelieving eyes. Tifa stood slowly, disentangling herself from the shocked Rufus and cupping his cheek, making him look up at her.

"Glad to know I've still got it down." She purred, smiling sweetly at him before walking out of the kitchen, shooting Barret a look of triumph that made the older man understand what had just transpired.

Rufus' shock turned into an expression that would have mirrored Barret's had there not been a spark of amusement glinting in his eyes.

* * *


	21. Poison

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty One - Poison_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Sick?"

"Sick." Reno repeated, raking his hand through his hair, jarring the lone ponytail holding it all together a little bit further than it already was. "But not an ordinary _sick_ sick."

"_Well_." Tifa sighed, glaring at the red-headed ex-Turk. "What exactly does that mean?" She was growing frustrated with the man's attitude and his way of veiling the entire situation. Elena was sick -- but how sick? He couldn't seem to put it into simple English terms for her.

"It means... I think she was poisoned. Yeah, poisoned, boss." He added, noticing Rufus' eyes darkening. "I don't know why or by who, but it was probably when we were all--"

"Drinking yourselves into a stupor, yes. Yes." Rufus finished for him, waving his hand in the air dismissiviely. "Can you get it out of her system?"

"I think it might be better to just take her to a hospital -- because nothing we've tried has worked. Antidotes, remedies, you name it. Nothing." Reno supplied, looking back at Rude for support. Rude simply stared back at him, looking impassive. Reno snorted. "_You_ carry her, you lazy ass!" He replied, looking straight at his bald best friend. Standing from his place beside Elena, he walked out of the room muttering under his breath.

Tifa felt sorry for him -- how couldn't she? It was obvious he was beating himself up for it, though it was in no way his fault. Tifa felt warm for her friend; there was something between Reno and Elena that everyone but themselves were picking up on.

"Lovely." Rufus murmured, looking to Rude. "Follow him, alright?" He ordered Rude. "Now is certainly the worst time for him to go on a destructive moment."

Rude nodded and walked out the same way his friend had only minutes before, leaving Rufus and Tifa alone with Elena.

Now this... This was not good. Her presentation to Rufus the other day in the kitchen still hung between them, though it was more of a doom for Tifa than for Rufus. She didn't regret actually doing it, as she knew he deserved the little tease after everything he'd been intentionally doing to make her nervous, but she definitely was regretting the sudden glint of mischief that gleamed in his eyes whenever he looked at her now. That was not a good thing for her, she knew. Not at all.

She wasn't scared of being around him alone.

She was simply scared -- _or anticipating_, a voice in her head whispered traitorously -- what he might do as payback.

Because she knew it was coming.

"So." She started, wanting to control the conversation that was bound to erupt between them. "Why do you think someone would want to poison her?"

Rufus shrugged, turning his face to the side to look at her. "There are quite a few reasons. Given the Turks history... Well, many people probably even today have the idea of revenge in their heads. Then, of course, there's the fact that she worked for me back in the Shinra days. And lastly, it could always just be a random fluke."

Tifa mulled over his words for a moment. "Okay. But if they were poisoning her because of her allegiances, why would they let her go afterwards? It would make more sense to me if they would've poisoned her and then gone further, otherwise it was probably a waste of their time..."

"True enough." He affirmed, putting an arm beneath Elena's legs and placing one on her back to support her as he lifted her from the bed. He turned and walked past Tifa out the door. She followed, looking at him expectantly, as it seemed he had more to say. "However, there's still the question of whether this poison can be cured."

Tifa felt her stomach drop to her knees for the second time as he reminded her of her earlier train of thought. She swallowed deeply and followed him further, deciding to go with them to see what happened. Barret had taken the kids out per her request when Reno had come to them, telling them he'd had news about Elena. Normally, it wouldn't have mattered that the kids were around as they'd been exposed to the equivalent of events, but with Reno's pale pallor and his awkward stance and poorly concealed emotions, she'd figured it was worse than just what they'd been previously exposed to.

"I hope she's okay." Tifa said quietly. 'I hope the kids still have their good friend when we come back.' A sickening thought and something she wasn't proud to think of, but a possibility all the same.

Rufus said nothing in response to her voiced worry and she felt a little let down by it -- he'd been surprising her a lot since she'd started living with him, but obviously today was not going to be one of those days...

'Don't be such a mindless person,' she thought. 'Your friend is hurt -- to what extent, who knows -- and he's just as worried as you.'

"Oh god." Tifa groaned, seeing Rufus' customary helicopter in the distance. She hated flying, she had to admit. Granted, Rufus had done particularly well the last time they'd flown anywhere, but it still made her stomach churn.

Her sick feeling became even worse at seeing Reno waiting. In the driver's seat.

Rufus was apparently thinking along the same lines. "Reno--"

"No, boss. I'm driving."

"Reno..." Rufus said, more sternly. Reno merely flipped headphones over his ears to block the other man's voice out. Tifa was filled with apprehension at the exchange, knowing Reno had never deliberately disobeyed orders from Rufus before, but after a moment Rufus backed down and walked into the back compartment. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and walked up the stairs slowly. She laid a reassuring hand on Reno's shoulder and he looked up at her. She gingerly took the headphones of his head and smiled kindly.

"Reno, she'll be fine. We'll all make sure of it."

Reno didn't say anything and simply nodded, averting his eyes from her own.

She caught Rude's eyes, or so she hoped given his sunglasses were barring the way and smiled at him, too. He was much more composed a man and she figured while she couldn't see anything on the outside, he was probably just as in deep turmoil as his best friend. They were all so devastatingly close, of course.

She traced Rufus' steps and sat down on the seat across from him, where Elena was sitting, strapped in. She brushed away a lock of blonde hair out of the woman's eyes before settling back and strapping herself in. Sighing, she started to fidget with her fingers. "So... I guess she hasn't woken up at all?" It was more of a question than a statement or start to a conversation; she didn't actually know.

Rufus shook his head distractedly. "No, she hasn't. Which surprises me. Most poison's..." He trailed off and didn't comment any further. Tifa lowered her eyes.

'Well, what am I going to do now...? Nobody wants to talk. Understandable, of course, but...'

"Eh, Tifa?" Reno called back, turning in his seat to look at her. "Someone's outside... Most likely looking for you."

She dragged her hand through her hair, already knowing who it was. Why couldn't he take the hint...? Unstrapping herself, she stomped (well, not really, but she would like to think) over to the window and stuck her head out. She barely noticed Rufus' now alert eyes watching her every move. She was right about who it was. "Cloud?" She asked, exasperated, giving him a look that said she didn't want to deal with any drama right now.

Cloud held his hands up in the air in defense. "Woah, Tifa, hang on."

She tilted her head in question.

"Where are you going? I saw Barret with the kids earlier..." He trailed off.

"I'm heading over to the hospital."

"Oh. Why? Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. It's Elena. She's been... Poisoned and nothing we have is working to fix it." Looking behind her at Reno, she saw him moving around impatiently. "Look," she said, turning back quickly. "I need to go. You should go and find the kids again and spend the day with them. They miss you."

_But you don't._ She see the unspoken words reflected through his eyes."I'll see you soon. Bye, Cloud." She said, leaving him standing there looking the same as he did before their little conversation -- lost.

Rufus' eyes were still trained on her as she walked back. Even as the Reno began to lift the helicopter off the basically empty street, he didn't look away. Feeling more than a little self-conscious, she returned the stare and crossed her arms over her chest. "What?"

He shrugged and looked away. "Nothing."

"I doubt it."

"Why do you still talk to that... Overgrown child?"

"Excuse me? He's a big part of my life, Rufus. I can't just..." She watched as he seemed to huff and look out the window a little angrily. Smiling widely, she leaned across to poke him in the shoulder. "Hello little green monster."

His eyes were instantly narrowed.

"I'm not _jealous_."

"You could've fooled me!" She giggled.

"Yes, well. This coming from the woman who had a hard time connecting the words purple and violet." He winked at her. "They are _still_ the same colour."

She blushed at his raising of an earlier situation. "Whatever, Rufus." He'd walked into her room today, as he'd elected to Reno to go and get her for him and had stumbled upon an interesting conversation between Tifa, Marlene and Yuffie.

_"I don't know, Yuffie..." Tifa said, looking over at Marlene. "Hey, Mar, what's the difference between violet and purple?"_

_Marlene pouted and crossed her arms. "There is no difference. They're the same--"_

_"No, no, I know Yuffie..." Tifa muttered to Yuffie over the phone. "Marlene, there must be a difference," she continued, looking up. "Yes, Yuffie, all you have is violet and you need purple?"_

_Rufus couldn't contain his laughter and set to work to set the situation straight._

"Where would Yuffie have been without me?" Rufus continued, smirking. "We wouldn't want her using the violet instead of the purple, of course..."

"You don't even know what she was talking about using." Tifa accused.

"Oh? Enlighten me?"

"No."

"I thought so."

'This,' Tifa thought, laying her cheek against one of her hands, 'was going to be a very long ride.'

* * *


	22. Never Alone

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty Two - Never Alone_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She was getting more and more paranoid by the second.

Absently biting her lip, Tifa gazed out of the large window to her left and wondered what was going on. What was going to happen next, more specifically. Did Elena being poisoned have anything to do with her ties to the Turks and Shinra or was it an entirely random hit? If it was about her ties to her friends, would they come after the others now? Was their goal to kill all four of them?

Tifa let her eyes stray over to Elena's seemingly lifeless body laying in the chair across from her. She hadn't once made any sign of even being alive -- no slight movement, no change in her breathing, no sound... Her throat constricted a bit at the thought and she forced herself to look away, hoping it was all just one very, very bad dream.

But it wasn't.

Nothing like this ever was.

"So... Who's this doctor we're going to see? Do you know?" Her question was directed to the significantly less broody and moody blond also sitting across from her. He flicked his blue eyes toward hers before looking away, not answering. But she knew that, eventually, he would. Eyes following the scenery flying by beneath the mechanical contraption, she waited.

"There's a doctor in Mideel."

And right away, images of her last visit to the small village flashed through her mind. Cloud, mako-poisoning, the lifestream, Cloud's memories... It took more will power than she thought it would to push it all away. She's hadn't been there for... Well, for a long time. Not since her last visit, lovely and exciting as it had been. She rolled her eyes to herself. It figured they'd be going there. Aside from Junon, Mideel had one of the best doctor's. It was a well known fact, however, Tifa wondered why they'd chosen to go there. While Mideel was certainly up to standard, it was much farther away.

"Why are we going there?" Tifa voiced, watching him quizzically. "Junon is a lot closer... I think it would be better to go there than Mideel, given it is closer. Elena would get whatever treatment she needs much quicker."

Rufus nodded his acknowledgement. "True enough. However," he said, meeting her gaze. "In Mideel, there are much fewer people who would recognize us. In fact, nobody there will recognize us, I believe, except for maybe you. The town of Junon does not bode well for us, me in particular."

Tifa conceded to the fact that he did have a point. She felt uneasy about taking more time than needed. Rufus seemed to sense what she was feeling, or perhaps he had similar thoughts of his own. "Reno disagreed with me before I came to get you -- but he agreed after I relayed that to him. He doesn't want any more trouble than necessary, for Elena's sake. We probably wouldn't even be able to enter the hospital there."

"That's so horrible. That they wouldn't accept a patient because of..." She swallowed. "Because of their past."

"Not everybody is as forgiving and willing to bestow second chances as you." He pointed out, eyeing her.

"Still." She didn't say anymore, not really knowing _what_ to say.

A comfortable silence passed over them as they continued the ride to the brush-surrounded town. Reno's fingers tapped mercilessly on the chair's armrest up front and for the second time today, her heart went out to him. She remembered what it was like having Cloud in an almost similar position as Elena and herself in Reno's -- she'd thought it unbearable and hadn't been sure, as the days passed, that she'd be able to do it.

A welcome break to her thoughts was presented by the shrill ring of her PHS in the very much palpable silence. She picked up on the first ring, seeing the button assigned to Barret blinking rapidly. "Barret?"

"Hey, girl." His gruff voice transmitted over the phone. "I jus' wanted ya to know, I'm takin' the kids to Corel with me. I don't know how long you'll be gone, but I figure it'll be enough to take 'em wit' me."

"Oh, yeah." She smiled, thankful for deed. "That'd be great. Did Cloud come by to see them?"

"Yeah, that Spiky-headed ass came here."

"Barret..." She warned. "I hope you didn't do anything stupid..."

"I, uh..." He said a little weakly. "I mighta..."

"Barret." She said, her tone firm.

"Alrigh', alrigh'..." He said, clearly annoyed that he was being treated like a child on this subject. "I jus' told him to leave ya the hell alone if you wanted him to. He got all quiet and said he would, that he'd accepted that you wanted your space and then he perked up, cause the children walked in, saw him and started screamin' like crazy chocobo's..."

She smiled at the mental image he conjured in her mind. "Well... Thank you for saying something, but you really didn't need to. And I would've been happier if you hadn't, but... Well, what's done is done I guess." She sighed, playing with a spare bit of string hanging off her clothing. "I'm glad the kids saw him. Are you already on your way to Corel or not?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then. I guess I'll phone you a bit later to talk to them."

"Alrigh' Teef. You keep your chin up and don't let that Shinra bastard--"

"Barret--"

"Er... Jus'... I'll talk to ya later."

Laughing, she said her goodbye and hung up the phone, replacing it in it's holder. She looked at Rufus, who seemed torn between paying attention and being indifferent and she told him what Barret had told him. By the time she was finished, Rufus was enjoying the fact that Cloud had been on the receiving end of the same thing he'd had to deal with in the company of Tifa's protective friend, a smug smirk gracing his lips.

"That dork of a man always had it coming."

Tifa gave him a look that said to cut it down a bit and he shrugged, but discontinued. They were approaching their destination and he decided to let go of his remarks until after they found out what was wrong with Elena.

Disembarking the helicopter, this time Rude was carrying Elena and he and Reno were a fair distance ahead of both Rufus and Tifa by the time they, too, stepped out.

"They're so sweet." Tifa chirped, watching the three ahead of them -- most notably, Reno. He kept looking back and forth from Elena to the town in front of them, never once really calming down.

Rufus sighed a bit dramatically. "I suppose they are. Though it can get a little overbearing sometimes, how close they are."

Tifa punched him playfully -- or as playfully as she could -- in the arm. "Oh come on! I know not even you can be so dense as not to see how _well_ Reno and Elena get along!"

"Little matchmaker?"

"Oh, god, probably not. Elena would never admit it and neither would Reno. They'll just have to get there themselves -- which they will!"

Rufus said nothing to that, merely looking down at her with a small quirk to his lips. As they walked into the village, she was awed. It was most certainly not a village any longer -- it had expanded a lot. It was basically back to new and more populated than ever. Houses, stores, parks -- everything was there and it was in tip-top shape. Although, she probably shouldn't have expected anything less; it had been a little over two years now, since she'd last seen the town that had been destroyed.

The most prominent building, was, of course, the hospital. It was huge. She was immensely grateful that they'd come here, now that she'd seen it. Not even Junon looked as good -- it was dirtier, smaller and it generally had pushy doctor's if she remembered Yuffie's account of the place correctly. At least she could be spared the worry of this hospital and it's way of being run.

'Maybe I'll get to see that doctor again. Oh what was his name...' Tifa thought, trying hard to bring it up from her memory. 'Actually, I don't think he ever gave us his name...'

Walking through the doors, she saw various nurses walking around busily, patients making their way silently through (those patient's that were able to, of course) and she was impressed by the technology possessed by the growing town.

Rufus seemed to be having similar thoughts. "Not too bad."

Reno and Rude were already standing at the front desk, being attended to by what looked to be the head nurse. Old and wiry, she had a kind face and a sweet smile, ready to take on whatever they could give her. "...of course, I will fetch the doctor right away, but why don't we set her up in a comfortable room?" That was all both Tifa and Rufus heard of the conversation and were soon walking again, following the nurse up a flight of stairs into a fair sized room with a round a chairs on the side and a crisp, clean bed situated in the middle of the room, machines flanking it.

Reno and Rude got her settled in while the nurse came over to greet the two newcomers. "Hello, my dears. I'm Belle, no need for formalities. I assume you're with these two?" At their nods she smiled. "I hope this room is to your liking?"

"Yes, of course." Rufus nodded, shaking hands with the petite woman. "I'm Rufus and this is Tifa."

The nurse shook his hand and immediately turned to the brunette beside him, watching her with a twinkle in her eye. "Tifa Lockheart?"

"Yes." She forced a smile, not knowing what to expect next. She usually had people coming up to her in the streets, recognizing her and knowing her name and the details of her life and victory with the Planet and she was ambushed with questions and thanks. She sincerely hoped this wasn't the case.

"Ah, yes. I've heard a lot about you, though not all about saving the world. One of the nurse's here talked about you once -- Nurse Kelly. She said you were here taking care of a blond haired man once, one of your friends? I'm sure she'd like to see you again... Would you like me to get her?"

"Uh, sure. But, I wonder, could we please have the same doctor we had the last time? I don't know if you know who he is, but..."

"Oh, yes, of course. Please, do sit down and I'll be back shortly." She smiled sweetly and bustled out of the room hurriedly, shutting the door behind her quietly.

Rufus was eyeing her weirdly, as were Reno and Rude. Reno was the first to speak. "You and Strife were here before? What for?"

She squirmed a bit, not really wanting to talk about, but then decided maybe it was best she did. At least then she might be able to keep Reno's mind off of Elena for the time-being. "Well... You all know about that day in the Crater, when the Weapons were set loose? And Cloud disappeared?" They nodded and let her continue. "Well, Cloud washed up here and..." Her throat constricted for the second time that day as she remembered seeing Cloud for the first time after he'd gone missing here. "He had a very, _very_ bad case of mako-poisoning."

"Oh." Reno said. "How bad?"

Tifa sighed. Hadn't she just said it was very, very bad? "The doctor said it was the worst case he'd ever seen."

"Interesting." Rufus said. And that ended the conversation. They waited for a only a few more minutes before Belle, a familiar looking nurse (presumably Kelly) and the very much familiar doctor walked in.

"Oh, my dear. How many times are you going to have to come back here?" Kelly walked up to her and took Tifa's hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "It's nice to see you of course, but under the circumstances..." She went to greet the others and the doctor walked up to take the woman's place.

"Tifa, good to see you." The handsome doctor spoke warmly, shaking her hand.

She shook his hand back. "I'm not quite sure what to call you." She laughed a little, feeling more than at ease with the man.

"Greg. And just Greg."

He greeted the others, same as Kelly had, before moving over to inspect Elena. He took a few minutes, working thoroughly from what Tifa could tell, before he stood, frowning. "I'm not quite sure what to say, really... You said she was poisoned?" The doctor asked, looking at Reno, who in turn nodded. "I think..." He said, motioning for the nurses to get her better situated. "I think I'll need to keep her overnight. You're welcome to stay here or to go to the Inn, which I believe would be better for you."

Reno's face darkened a bit, taking it all in. Rude showed no reaction and Rufus took charge of the situation. Tifa wasn't sure what to think -- this could be either a good thing or a bad thing. "We'll stay at the Inn. We'll come back tomorrow, I suppose. I hope you'll have information for us?"

"I should, yes. I'll let the nurse's get her comfortable. Meanwhile, you all look as though you need some rest." He said, his doctoral instincts kicking in, apparently.

Rufus nodded. Silently, they all vacated the room. Reno left without a word and Rufus and Rude shared a silent word of their own. Both men nodded and Rufus clapped the taller man on the shoulder, a gesture obviously not commonplace between them, before Rude followed Reno's steps.

Tifa knew they -- or Reno, rather -- were probably headed for the bar. It made her feel sick, to know they could only be driven to such a place. She wished she could do something for them. Rufus stepped up to stand in front of her and tilted his head a bit. "Is there anything you need to do?"

Tifa shook her head. "No," she sighed, running her hand through her hair. "I think I just want to go and relax in a nice, soft hotel room bed."

He nodded. "Well," he smirked and Tifa's guard went up instinctively. "You and I will be sharing a room."

"What!?"

"Rude thinks it best -- as do I. Elena was poisoned. And while we're now miles away from Edge and Midgar, if this person or persons are serious, well." His smirk widened into a grin. "So, we'll just have to enjoy the night together. I think it's a splendid idea."

"Of course you do." She snarled, pushing past him.

She wasn't particularly angry... In fact, she couldn't deny the fact that staying in a hotel room with him was more than just a little appealing and possibly exciting...

'Oh my god, you mental, hormonal woman...' She thought.

Rufus chuckled as he caught up with her and they walked into the Inn side by side.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

_"WHAT!?"_

"Tifa, be civilized."

"I'm going to _kill_ you!"

"It's not as though I knew about it."

"I want another room."

"No."

"Rufus--"

"You have no money to pay for one. And I will not be paying for one. It would make us all much happier to know you are safe, in a comfortable hotel room..."

"_In bed_ with you, you mean."

"Precisely."

It was just her luck. She wasn't going to fool herself into thinking it was just a horrible coincidence. She should have seen it coming. Nothing like this ever seemed to escape her anymore.

She was sharing a bed with Rufus Shinra.

And what made it all worse was that the voice in the back of her mind was cheering the sudden turn of events.

* * *


	23. Denial

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty Three - Denial_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

It felt like everything inside her was constantly shifting, unsure of where to put themselves, just like the feelings that were coursing through her. She was nervous as hell being thrown into this situation and for once in her life she was doubting her self control. She'd be able to make it through the night, right? She wasn't such a fool as to let her needs and her feelings take hold of her and push her into a moment in where everything was lost?

No. No, she had reasoning.

Still... She doubted herself. Quite a bit.

It didn't help with Rufus' words of 'encouragement'.

"Oh, don't worry Lockheart." He said, rolling his eyes dramatically and shifting his hair away from his face. "It's not as though I would let you take advantage of me like that."

"Oh." She laughed and she congratulated herself for keeping her anxiety out of both her laughter and her voice; when it happened that she couldn't, well... It was pathetic, she had to admit. "You won't let _me_ take advantage of _you_? Pull your head out of your ass, will you?"

"Please, language."

"Shut up and move, _please_, so I can deduce what's going to happen." There was a threat in her eyes, one he knew she'd make good on if given the opportunity, so he settled for shooting her one of those heart-melting smirks (not that it melted _her _heart, of course!) and complied.

"I can't believe you did this to me." She muttered, muffled even further by her hands that she placed over her face as she walked into the room Rufus had stopped in front of and unlocked. She shot him a nasty glare through the cracks in her fingers she was looking through and she glared back just as forcefully.

"I didn't do anything to you." He quipped and for a moment she almost believed he was angry, until, only seconds after, "why are you so reluctant to admit that you want me?"

"I'd rather sleep with Reno and Rude than you!"

"They'd probably be worse than me, to be honest."

She shut her mouth, knowing it was true and he grinned in triumph. This was all quite a change from earlier -- or rather, any time she ever saw him -- being so happy. He was usually professing to the world (or quite possibly himself) how dark, dangerous and angry he was, letting the people around him off with brooding silences and words deep with hidden threats. Especially after the incident with Elena had begun.

"I'm having a shower." She seethed, wanting to get out of the same room as him as fast as possible.

"I'm going to go out and look around for a bit -- try not to get into trouble. That would be the _opposite_ of what you usually do." He added.

She didn't dignify him with a response, simply shutting the door on him and locking it. She waited until she heard him leave before she leaned her back against it and let out a deep sigh. She was a walking mess of nerves and hormones, she decided. There was no way to get away from it, none at all. Sliding down the door, she took a few minutes to herself before she got in the shower.

'Oh my god, oh my god, I'm not going to last the night.' She thought, her eyes roaming around the bathroom. It was quite large, an improvement from the last time she was here and she was filled with a sudden happiness for the people of Mideel -- it had to be nice to be able to build from the ground up with more resources available to them. 'Too bad you don't have enough.'

She was, in all truth, scared.

'Maybe I'll just sleep on the floor.' She mused, then reminding herself that she was the woman. But she knew she could never make him sleep on the floor; she was a mighty pushover and wouldn't allow it when she knew perfectly well there was another more viable option.

Standing, wanting very much to simply lose her tension and thoughts underneath the gentle spray of warm water, Tifa began to extricate herself from her clothing, watching her face in the mirror. She didn't look too bad, given the circumstances -- she probably looked the best out of them all. She knew Reno and Rude couldn't have gotten much sleep in the time she'd been drugged to now and more than likely the same would occur tonight. Rufus would have heard about the possibility earlier on, she figured...

Sighing, she wondered what was going to happen next as she turned the knob of the shower.

'If we can't do anything about...' She swallowed thickly. 'About this poison, then...'

She decided she really didn't want to think like that and submerged herself under the ceaseless beating of the water droplets, taking as much time as she possibly could before she got out, blocking out unwanted thoughts.

* * *

Upon leaving the room he was now sharing with the raging Tifa Lockheart, Rufus headed straight for Reno and Rude's own room. Knocking lightly, he waited until someone stomped over to the door. "Boss." Rude answered, nodding his head.

Rufus sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "Do you mind watching our room for a bit -- not overtly, just checking every now and then. I'm leaving for a while."

Rude merely nodded and Rufus knew he could trust the man to his job. As an afterthought, hesitantly, he laid his hand on his taller colleagues shoulder and looked him straight in the eye, piecing them through his customary glasses. "Get some rest. Especially Reno, make sure he does. I don't care if you must use magic, just do it. He won't be any help to Elena in his current state." Coughing and raising his voice to it's normal volume, he nodded and said his thanks before he turned and walked away.

Stepping outside after sharing a few words with a wandering employee he let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He glanced up at the darkening sky, already seeing the odd few stars popping out from behind their daytime veil; they reminded him almost instantly of Tifa and he smirked to himself, walking forward.

She really did look beautiful when she was angry and riled up like that -- and that was just the added bonus to it all. He took the most pleasure in actually getting her to share sarcastic remarks and retorts with him. Trading things like that were always fun, though.

A required entertainment, he liked to call it. He never really had so much fun any other way.

He could still remember the taste of her, the feel and the smell of her and he could no longer deny that he wanted more. Oblivious to Tifa, he imagined, was his aversion to tonight happening as well as her, though he could guess they both feared for the same reasons.

She was becoming increasingly difficult to be around. Dangerous and difficult.

But he supposed it was all part of the challenge, the package that came along with whatever this was they were a part of. He refused to acknowledge what might be growing slowly between them and simply passed it off as another conquest; though, he had trouble finding an excuse for the newfound feelings he had towards her, different from any other woman he'd ever encountered.

'She's got you.' A voice in the back of his head chanted and not for the first time.

Deciding he didn't really need to be out here battling with his own mind, he turned around and headed back to the hotel, unsure of why he had never left the vincinity of the hotel since first stepping outside.

* * *

She was laying on the bed when he came back in, skin tinted a little pink from the heat of the shower and covered by only a single towel. Immediately averting his eyes, he walked into the room casually. Tifa must've caught him, for the next moment she said something.

"It not as though you've never seen it before." She joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere between them by using his own words he'd thrown at her once. The corners of his lips quirked up a little and Tifa wasn't lost on that either, feeling a wave of relief wash over her at the sight; she was afraid he'd taken her words a little more hard then she'd intended.

"Well, of course, but as a woman with such modesty--" She narrowed her eyes at his back. He sensed as much, turning to face her with a lop-sided smile, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now, now, don't look at me like that."

"Why are you so _happy_?" She asked, shuffling around on the bed into a more comfortable position. Her heart was thrumming against her chest and she wondered, briefly and insanely, if he could hear it as loudly as she could.

"Do you prefer the ogre? I must admit it is much easier to convey..."

"No, no, no!" She said quickly -- maybe a little too quickly as she absorbed the curious look he was sending her. She grasped the top of the fluffy towel around her even though it would have held up without her hand as she forced herself into a sitting position, her legs tucked underneath her. "I just, uh... It's just a change, I guess. Sudden..." She trailed off, noticing the look her was giving her. "Rufus?"

It seemed the whisper of his name was all it took and before she could comprehend what was happening he was in front of her, his hands on her cheeks, sliding down to her shoulders and then down her arms as his mouth roamed over hers hungrily. She couldn't stop herself from responding and then her nails were raking his scalp as she tangled her hands in his hair and let everything she had been feeling go.

How was it they managed to get into these situations?

* * *


	24. Questions and Answers

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty Four - Questions and Answers_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She had figured that this would happen sometime in the duration of the night. It wasn't something she planned -- she really hadn't thought he'd be back for a bit and the bathroom was positively steaming -- and she was having her own second thoughts now; should she be letting this happen?

'No,' she admitted through the haze that was clouding her mind. 'No, it shouldn't, but... But how can we keep doing this?'

He was over her now, his hands were cupping her cheeks and were slowing running there way down her body. She was glad she'd had the sense to at least make sure her towel would stay up without her helping it, as it wasn't an option right now. And not because she was unable to, but because she didn't want to stop and rationalize and...

"Wait." She breathed, breaking away. His eyes were watching her, smoldering and she didn't complain when instead of her lips he went for the skin of her neck. It was her undoing and she gave him better access by laying her head to the side, closing her eyes and shivering at his touch, as he raked his teeth over the sensitive skin, making his way lower and lower.

"We should really stop, Rufus." She whispered, but with no real conviction in her voice. Regardless, it was then that he pulled away. She sighed, letting her left leg fall back to lay on the bed, unmoving. She felt sated enough but she wanted more and she wished she hadn't had to tell him to stop. Groaning, she rolled over onto her side and covered her face with her hands.

Rufus let himself fall onto the soft bedding beside her.

"This is... This has to stop." She said, feeling totally useless.

"Mmm."

She peeked her eyes out from behind her fingers and sighed. "I didn't mean that. I just mean... We just need to find a way to, uh... Deal with this." She cleared her throat. "Properly. Without resorting to..."

"To sex?"

She glared at him and stood. "I don't know exactly what you want from me, Rufus, but if sex is all then you can forget it. I'm not interested." She said, turning on her heel and walking back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She knew she was as much to blame as him, but she was so confused about everything in regards to him and the words had just come... Tumbling out.

Sighing once more, she began to slip into her clothing and, once finished, brushed out her hair, opting to just leave it down unattended for the night. She took a few minutes to simply stare at herself in the mirror, contemplating her reflection, before shaking her head and finally walking out.

To her surprise, Rufus was sitting -- laying -- in the exact same spot she'd left him.

"Rufus..." He didn't answer her, so she plowed on ahead. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm tired and confused and... Worried." She finished lamely, not sure of what she really wanted to say in the first place.

"It doesn't matter -- it's been a long enough day as it is, what with Elena and Cloud."

"Yes, but it's no excuse. Not really." She said, sitting herself down on the edge of the bed. She wondered what was going to happen next now that she'd basically just admitted her feelings to him, although guarded by a few mere words. Not to mention their constant coming-together that seemed to be happening.

"It is what it is." He replied and she was startled by the steely resolve that seemed to weave itself into his voice. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest in her own response. What was this -- he was going to turn on her and for what?

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Rufus started, laying his cold eyes on her. "That I can understand; who would want to upset poor misguided Strife?" He snorted and stood, walking in circles around the room. He was uncomfortable, that much was certain and she wondered about the extent to which is might really bother him that she was so placating with Cloud. But he had no reason to question it, did he? It was, after all, her business. Not his.

"There's nothing between Cloud and I anymore." She reassured and for once she felt fine in saying the words. They felt right, true.

He scoffed. "Please. You've never been done with him, Tifa. It's pathetic watching him sidle up to you, getting whatever he wants from you and then leaving you behind when he realizes there might be something more to chase after. What's worse," he broke off, eyeing her pointedly. "Is how you always seem to just brush it aside and try to carry on with him. I guess self respect was never a part of your vocabulary."

She really was dazed at this. Why was it he cared so much?

When she voiced the question, he scowled, snarling that he didn't care at all, it was just a pathetic cycle he had to wonder if she was even aware of it.

"Of course, if you aren't, _well_..." He trailed off, raising an eyebrow in her direction that hinted towards something she didn't dare think of.

She was filled with a sudden rage at his audacity. "You have no idea!" She yelled, her voice shrilly. "It's not so easy, Rufus. I can't just walk away sometimes -- I have two children to think about, whose lives have revolved around both of us for years; me and Cloud are all they've really had for the longest time. If I had just walked away from him at the first sign of a struggle or problem it would not have only been unfair to the children, but to Cloud and I!" She breathed harshly, throwing her hands in the air. "You don't just walk away when something happens you don't think you can fix -- you have to _work_. You have to work to save a relationship and that's what I tried doing."

"And it didn't occur to you it might've been a lost cause after the second, third time?"

"I'm here now, aren't I? I'm not going to over-analyze my decisions to you just so you can feel better, Rufus." She bit out harshly. "I don't expect you to understand anyway -- you've never been one to work for what you want anyways."

A bitterness was creeping into her tone now and she decided she'd said enough -- her last jibe was personal enough for him and she instantly regretted saying it. She'd forgiven him for what he'd done.

For what his father had done.

There was no need to make a big deal out of it. She opened her mouth to say something along the lines of "I'm sorry" or "that was uncalled for" but he beat her to the punch.

"That was deliberate, I assume?" He shot back.

"No, Ruf--"

"I think it's funny how you can say that, when that's all I've been doing since Midgar's falling." He sneered, walking over to her and forcing her down onto the bed so he could loom over her. "At least my comments hit the mark. Tell me," he breathed, "if you had the chance to go back to Cloud and raise your happy little family, no baggage, no problems, would you do it, Lockheart?"

She pushed him off of her and stood, walking away from him. "No," she said with as much vehemence she thought she'd ever have. "No, I wouldn't."

He didn't look like he believed her and he said as much, in something akin to a mocking tone.

"Why does this subject seemed to get you all riled, _Shinra_." She mimicked, using his surname instead of his given.

"I believe we aready established that it doesn't."

"I beg to differ!" She screamed. "It always comes to this!"

"Then by all means, leave." He said, throwing his arm out to the door, all the while retaining his composure. "I'm sure it'll do us some good, won't it?"

"_Fuck_ you, Rufus."

"Please," he drawled, watching as he stormed past him and out the door. "It's apparently the only thing I'm after."

* * *

Sometimes he really had to laugh at himself.

And this situation.

All they seemed to do was fight. Everything they did in an effort to bring themselves closer and to try and squash this growing attraction or, what Reno would call it, _sexual tension_, backfired and one of them happened to storm out angry and hurt.

He didn't have to think very hard to get that it was, indeed, Tifa always being the one to huff and fly out of the room, away from him.

Clearly, they were simply too destructive to be around each other.

Making his way into the bathroom, he turned on the tap and splashed water from the sink onto his face.

The second his last words had left his mouth, he wished he could just stuff them all back inside him, sitting there and stewing and lying dormant, unused. However, that was obviously no longer an option. She was gone, outside, somewhere alone and he didn't dare trick himself into believing she was safe in Mideel. If someone was hell bent on poisoning them -- though they didn't have proof to support the claim -- Tifa, being associated with them and currently living with them would be a target.

And if this person was hell bent on poisoning them then they wouldn't let a simple fly across the ocean deter them.

If something happened to her while she was out there... Not only would Reno, Rude, Cloud and her children never forgive him, but neither would he.

His heart already felt strangled at the mere thought.

* * *

She'd hurt him just as much as he'd hurt her.

They'd traded insults and it all fit perfectly between them as they were all true.

It didn't make hearing them any easier, of course.

She had no idea where she was going and she really didn't care. Anywhere was better than that too-small and confining hotel room. She'd stepped out of line, to be honest and had initiated the entire string of events by trying to needle him into saying something was may or may not have been true. Regardless, she felt horrible and there was a sickening knot in her stomach as she tried to think of what she could possibly say to him.

'There's probably nothing you can say to make things better.' She thought, kicking against the ground beneath her. It was nice and quiet and dark and the stars were shining without hesitance. The moon, large and full, was looking down on her and under it's wake she couldn't help but feel small and helpless -- it wasn't too big a difference from what she was normally feeling these days.

He was right; what she and Cloud had done was pathetic, bordering on something worse.

She had degraded herself.

And now that she had time to think about it, she thought she knew where his comments had stemmed from.

'He only wanted to help you... To try and make you understand.' Despite his reluctance to admit it, she knew he felt something for her, even if it was only friendship. 'He doesn't want you to get caught up in the same situation again, that's all.'

_Friendship._ Her mind hadn't gone any farther, staying behind while her thoughts dragged on ahead of her.

'He feels at least friendship. If that's all, is that going to be good enough for you?'

_No._

'There!' She thought, closing her eyes and feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. 'No, it's not enough.'

She wanted more.

Too bad she had rotten timing.

* * *

He was just as surprised as her when he opened the door to leave the hotel room to look for her and he was suddenly pushed backwards into the room, only to be set upon by the object of his searching. He realized, immediately, he was being kissed like there was no tomorrow. Fervently.

He responded, but pulled back after only a few seconds. "What is this?" He asked.

Sighing and stepping back from him a little she looked up into his eyes. "I... Rufus, what do you want from me?" She asked him and he was stunned into silence for a minute.

"I..." He chuckled derisively, waving his hand in the air randomly. "Something other than what happened before you stormed out like a mad-woman."

She smiled and had the grace to look sheepish. "I'm sorry for what I said before..." She began.

He held up a hand to silence her however. "No, I apologize. You did nothing wrong... I don't believe, anyway. I think we'd be best just to put it behind us, yes?"

She looked as though she wanted to say something but refrained, giving him a smile. "Yes. Behind us."

* * *


	25. Results

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty Five - Results_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Opening her eyes was difficult; she wished, desperately wished, she could just stay hidden away in this alcove of her mind where everything was a figment of her imagination. Her needs and wants mattered here -- and all of that aside she was warm and comfortable...

Her wishes flew out the window and her eyes snapped open as she remembered where she was and with whom. She was much more aware now of the warm body resting beside her and she could hear his heartbeat where her head lay. His breathing was even, indicating he was still asleep and for that she was grateful, but she wasn't sure how she was going to be able to extricate herself from him with his arm laying lightly on her waist and her shoulder tucked underneath his own.

'Figures,' she muttered internally, cursing her luck.

But she had known this would happen anyway.

And then she remembered why she didn't want to wake up in the first place; Elena. What if the doctor had her results today? Did she really want to know? Was it something that could be easily fixed or would something more need to be done? Swallowing thickly, she started to get up as gently as she could, trying not to disturb Rufus.

When, finally, she'd managed to escape her predicament, she couldn't help but stay standing beside the bed and watch him as he slept. He looked so different in sleep -- less guarded and younger... Looking free, like everything he'd done had been forgiven and lifted off his shoulders.

'If only.'

She realized, belatedly, she had no other clothing and wondered if perhaps she should go and get something new; she hadn't had any time to pack anything before they'd left and the amount of money she did have would in no way buy her any article of clothing. Rufus had told her point blank if she'd wanted anything then she was free to use whatever he had on him, but she knew she'd feel beyond guilty using someone else's money on herself. After mulling it over she decided against it and proceeded to the bathroom to get herself get ready for the day.

She noticed the time on the clock and felt like laughing -- she had a long time to get ready and quite possibly do anything else she wanted. She'd always been an early riser so it didn't strike her as odd that it was currently six-thirty in the morning.

She was finished within fifteen minutes and still Rufus was asleep.

Scavenging for a piece of paper and pen, she wrote Rufus a note to let him know she'd gone out as she'd woken up early and she would be back later. Capping the pen, she laid it on the table beside the curling yellow paper (it must have been there for a long time) and, feeling refreshed, let herself out and closed the door behind her.

* * *

The early morning air was crisp and fresh and she breathed it in, sighing contentedly. The sunshine was already hitting the entire island, bathing the trees and the windows in a shimmering glow. Tifa was sure that the sea must look absolutely beautiful at this time and added seeing it to her list of things to do. Craving coffee and fruit, she walked over to a small cafe and ordered herself a fruit salad and a cappuccino. That done, she decided to find a quiet and secluded place to sit and relax for the time she had on her own.

Unfortunately, she made so many pit-stops (or, rather, was pulled in by the happy and bustling people getting ready to work) that by the time she was finished her food and drink, it was probably time to go back and find Reno, Rufus and Rude.

'Time flies.' She mused, smiling at the children who were kicking a ball up and down the street.

Everyone here was very open and friendly, which Tifa liked immensely and she had chatted on quite a bit with several people. A certain fragile looking lady had invited her into her shop early after asking Tifa for her help; she couldn't refuse and had had a pleasant time overall, while the woman told Tifa a number of stories of her life.

Stretching her arms above her head, reminiscent to that of a cat, Tifa felt wonderful and could only hope that the rest of the day would progress as smoothly. To her surprise, the small town had been more than enough to keep her mind off of the more pressing matters.

And then a thought came to her out of nowhere and she was struck by how tempting it was. "I could live here." She spoke aloud softly, the possibilities already taking her too far ahead. Laughing it off, she made her way quickly to the hotel and towards the room she shared with Rufus. Upon walking in, she found him with both Reno and Rude, the latter pair looking more than impatient and eager to get moving.

Rufus nodded in her direction. "We were just about to head off to the hospital."

Tifa smiled sheepishly and sent an apologetic glance towards Reno. "Sorry. I got caught up by... Everything." Every_one_.

Reno waved it off and smirked to keep down his worry. "Don't worry 'bout it, babe."

"We should go." Rude said, nodding at her. She returned to gesture and was the first out the door. She walked the entire way with Reno and Rude, tracing the path she felt, maybe, they might be following more often.

'What a horrible thought!' She scolded herself, appalled.

She tried her best to keep them entertained, but she was sure she was failing miserably and her own mood was waning with each step they took.

And when they walked through the clear doors of the large building, she knew today was only going to get worse before it got better.

* * *

Tifa, seeing that the men weren't going to do anything themselves, walked up to the front counter to ask about seeing Elena and her doctor. The young nurse nodded cheerfully, directing them all towards her room, leaving them there with themselves and their thoughts while she located the doctor. Tifa smiled, thanked her and watched as the woman walked away. Sighing, she shut the door.

When she turned around, her heart broke at the sight of Reno slumped in a chair beside Elena's bedside, Rude on the other side still standing and motionless as ever. She knew he was hurting and she just wished he would let it go, let them see it and help him. She knew it would probably never happen though and sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the room beside Rufus, letting nostalgia wash over her.

"She's going to be fine, guys." Tifa said, wanting nothing more than to evade a horribly depressing silence. Reno looked her way and shrugged noncommittally. "Come on, Reno," Tifa continued. "We're not going to just let her slip away from us if it turns out to be bad. And there's a chance of that, so be prepared... But whatever happens, she's going to be fine. Remember that."

There was a chance of things taking a turn for the worse and she didn't feel bad in saying it to him, but she regretted seeing his eyes darken with anger. But if anger was the emotion he needed to feel to get through this, she was hardly going to say anything against it.

She didn't, of course, expect his outburst.

"Fuck, Tifa. You're just a myriad body of happiness, aren't you?" He snarled.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you what you _want_ to hear, Reno, that she's going to be up and walking and talking once the doctor walks into the room and administers the grand remedy. The doctor may or may not, but if this is something more than a simple poison," she spoke calmly, watching as the emotions he'd worked so hard to hide passed over his features. "Then be ready to hear it. I don't like it anymore than you do, but..." She sighed, trailing off. It was a waste, she knew, so why bother?

"She's right, Reno." Rude interjected smoothly, directing his attention to his grief-stricken friend.

Rufus, Tifa noticed, was abnormally quiet throughout the entire exchange. When she looked over at him, she was surprised to see him leaning back and flipping through a magazine of some sort.

"What are you...?" She hissed, confused.

He shrugged and looked up at her. "I'm waiting. Which all of you seem incapable of doing."

Tifa rolled her eyes.

"Fuck, I'm sorry Tifa. I'm just..." Reno started, but Tifa raised a hand, signaling him to stop.

Shaking her head, she replied, "it doesn't matter, I'm sorry for saying anything, I know how you're feeling... Well, actually, I probably don't, you two are closer to her than I am. I'm sorry. For all of this."

"It's not like _you_ poisoned her, unless you've been keeping something from us." Rufus said, winking at her. Frowning, Tifa elbowed him.

"That's not funny."

"Yeah, honestly boss. How do I know you weren't the one who poisoned her? All that muttering about wanting to kick our asses for our 'insubordination' or whatever the fuck you always tell us..." Reno chuckled and Tifa was relieved as the air seemed to clear itself of tension. Even when the doctor walked in a few minutes later, everyone was relaxed.

As relaxed as they could be, anyway.

The doctor made a quick survey of everyone in the room and smiled at them all in turn and for a second Tifa was filled with the tiniest bit of hope. She saw the same thing reflected in Reno and they waited for him to speak with bated breath.

And then it came crashing down around them. "I'm afraid her condition is not good..." The doctor spoke clearly and Tifa watched as Reno sank back, rubbing his tired eyes with his hands. "We can't seem to isolate the poison to attack it with some sort of counter and nothing we've tried otherwise works... The only thing I can suggest is dragon grass, which unfortunately we have none of in stock."

Tifa turned her confused gaze to the doctor. "Why dragon grass?"

The doctor cleared his throat. "Dragon grass, as you know, is what dragons will consume when they're wounded. When dragon's are poisoned, it works just as well. The reason I suggest dragon's grass is because, given the size of a dragon, the grass must hold an antibody that can move throughout the entire system of the dragon. In a human, it would work as a powerful system cleaner." He nodded, as though explaining all of the information to himself. "Yes. I believe it could be the only thing to help your friend."

"Dragon grass wouldn't be dangerous for humans?" Rude asked.

The doctor shook his head, though his brow furrowed in thought. "I don't believe so -- we may need to run some tests before we can use it, but I believe it will work fine, without endangering her."

Tifa breathed a sigh of relief; for a moment, she'd wondered whether Elena would have any chance. Now that she did, although it was a slim one at best, she felt like a huge weight had been taken off of her. She knew better than to throw away ideas that had only a small percentage of success -- it was usually those ones that ended up working in her favour.

"Alright, then. Boss," Reno stood, turning to face Rufus. "Rude and I are going to go and find this... Grass." Without waiting for a response, he proceeded to walk out of the room. Without Rude.

Rufus looked at the doctor. "Is there anywhere you would suggest where we could find this dragon grass?"

Tifa had an answer for that question. "You, actually, might be able to find some in the Northern Crater. There were tons of plants around that could be the dragon grass. What does dragon grass look like?" Tifa asked the doctor.

"Rude, fucking move!" Reno called.

"It's very light in colour -- green and it had specks of purple dotting it." He replied.

Rude nodded and, after saying goodbye to both Tifa and Rufus, left the room in a hurry much like Reno.

Tifa sighed and thanked the doctor, who left with a sympathetic glance.

Rufus took Reno's place in the chair beside Elena's bed and took her hand in his own, watching her face intently. Almost as though he was waiting for her to wake up at the simplest touch. Smiling sadly, she tried to strike up some sort of conversation. "Those two really love her, don't they?"

Rufus merely nodded. "Yes, they do. I worried once, about Reno trying to kill Elena off on their missions." He chuckled at the thought. "They never did get along in the beginning -- Reno was angry I'd had him replaced by a rookie and Elena was angry at his unwillingness to accept her."

"They _still _don't get along."

"No, you're right. But it was much worse before. They actually did want to kill each other once." He trailed off.

Tifa took in the sight quietly, before she slipped out of the room, feeling like she was intruding on a wholly private moment.

* * *


	26. Divulgence

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty Six - Divulgence_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

They would be staying in Mideel for as long as it took for Reno and Rude to return; of course, knowing the urgency of the situation, she found it hard to believe they'd be there for longer than one, maybe two weeks, but... Still. It was as unnerving as before, knowing she would be spending that time with none other than Rufus Shinra. She only hoped they could find other ways to keep themselves occupied than by fighting.

'Not likely,' she thought, still sitting outside the door to Elena's room. Looking around, she saw orderlies, nurses and doctor's running around, taking care of patients from all over the world. Patients whose lives were in someone else's hands.

She couldn't imagine living the life of a doctor -- being the one to give or take life from someone. What about mistakes? What if, because of your mistakes, someone's family and friends had to grieve over the lost life of a loved one and you understood that maybe it wasn't your fault, but you were the one who was there and you couldn't save them? It was undoubtedly nerve-racking.

And yet, she could think of no other line of work that was so entirely selfless.

'I... We, could live here... Just me and the kids. I could learn, get myself a job, finally give them what they deserve...'

The click of the door beside her signaled Rufus' return and she looked up at his troubled face, all temptation fleeing her mind.

She would think about it later. Long and hard.

"It's hard," she said, after a few minutes of stony silence from the man in front of her. "It's hard seeing her like that, knowing you can't do anything... But she's going to be fine, just like I told the others. Reno and Rude aren't going to let her slip away, you know that."

His eyes rested on hers for a moment before he looked away without a word. "I'm going to go to the bar." He stated, turning and walking away from her. Calling back over his shoulder, he told her she could follow if she wanted. "Otherwise, I'll see you back at the hotel."

She sighed and ran a bit to catch up with him. "As if I'm going to let you go alone after that."

"I'm not a child, Lockheart."

It actually hurt to hear him revert to calling her by her surname. Annoyance flashed through her almost instantaneously, but she pushed it down. "I never said you were, but... I don't think that anybody would appreciate it if I left you to yourself in a bar... Not to mention while you and the others are thinking there's someone out there to get you all."

'You just don't want him to hurt himself...' She thought glumly, letting the truth of it sink in. 'Or others.' She added wryly.

Glancing up at him, she found him looking down at her. She felt her back go up at what she could see reflected in his eyes; annoyance, exasperation, defiance. "What?" She bit out sharply. "Is it illegal for me to go and have a drink, Shinra?"

He smirked and faced forward again. "No, it's not -- but you remember what happened the last time you had a drink in my company."

Despite herself, she felt a blush slowing rising in her cheeks. "No worries, it's not going to happen again."

He snorted. "Pity."

"What!?"

"P-I-T--"

"Don't make me slap you."

"I'm not the one that doesn't understand a simple English word." He chuckled when she shot him an icy glare.

Pushing through the hospital's glass doors, the pair walked out into the sun-filled morning. More people were out and about than Tifa had seen during her walk, chatting and smiling and laughing with one another. Suddenly, an image made itself crystal clear in her head; she was sitting on a chair, Yuffie situated on her lap, the young teen's left leg stuck out into the air, resting on a reluctant Vincent's arm. Barret was shooting her an awkward glance, wondering why on earth the two girl's were laughing hysterically at themselves and Vincent's expression when they were trying to take a group picture. Cloud sat up against the wall, Red sitting beside him, his tongue hanging out happily. Cid and Cait were fighting, Cid constantly telling the poor cat he was going to stick his Venus Gospel where the sun didn't shine if he didn't get off his shoulder at that very moment.

She still had the picture, she was sure... She couldn't remember a time when they'd all been happier.

She felt a pang in her chest and the deep, welling loneliness she'd buried over the years being dragged up to visit her. She missed her friends so much. They hardly ever were able to get together and it was entirely too difficult for them all to be apart from each other.

They were a family and after all of their adventures together, they had wanted to stay together for however long they could.

Unfortunately, that hadn't happened and now they were all suffering, though they'd all managed to push it away from the forefront of their minds.

The bar seemed a great idea to Tifa right now, actually.

"It's so nice here. Quite... Casual. Everyone knows each other." Tifa said, trying to strike up a conversation. "It's so different from everywhere else. It's... Peaceful. Even after they lost everything, they were happy. And they made everything they wanted a reality."

"Midgar certainly was never like that."

"No. No, it wasn't." Tifa acquiesced.

'It was a wasteland, Midgar was.'

Finally, after Tifa's attempt at conversation failed and they walked in companionable silence for five minutes, they reached the bar. It, for a split second, made Tifa envious. It was very fancy, well built and well taken care of...

'Bartender's all want someone else's bar...' She mused. She wondered if, when she returned to Midgar, she would want to continue to take care of everything like before -- watch and listen to all of her regulars babble on about their none-too-wonderful lives, to interfere with the fights she expected from visitors and to mix, mix, mix with no rest.

She slipped herself her own drinks, she wasn't going to lie. Sometimes she felt like just leaving and letting the drunks destroy her bar as they pleased and head off to someone else's bar, so _she _could complain about whatever _she_ felt like.

And so, walking into the already busy bar, she felt a wave of contentedness wash over her.

At least she wasn't the one serving the drinks.

"Try not to become too inebriated." Rufus muttered.

Tifa scoffed, "please. Watch _yourself_."

After settling themselves down in a secluded corner of the large space and ordering their choice of drinks, they zeroed off into silence. Drumming her fingers against the table, Tifa leaned her chin into the palm of her hand, not knowing what to do or to say.

"Would you stop that?"

Raising a delicate eyebrow, she smirked. "Bugging you?" She asked, all the while making the drumming sound louder. In response, he clapped his hand over hers, effectively stopping her fidgeting. She frowned at him.

"Bugging you?" He tossed back smugly.

Scowling she tried to tug her hand away from him, but his grip proved to be to strong for her.

'And you don't really want to anyway, do you?' A voice in her head chattered away, making her groan internally.

"Ah, ah, ah." He teased. "Don't you think we should get to know each other better? What better time? We've only just spent a couple of weeks living together and sleeping together--" she shot him a withering look "without knowing anything more than what ticks the other off."

"Fair enough," she said airily, trying to seem unaffected by him. "But you're going first."

"Alright, then. Ask away."

"Tell me about your family -- your mother, your father..." She knew it would strike a nerve with him, given that it was his family. He hated his father, she knew, but she wondered if there was a bigger, more deeper reason than the simple 'he tried to rule my life and the world, forcing it upon me'.

"Must we talk about that?" He bit out, taking a gulp of his drink and bringing the glass down with so much force it was a wonder the glass hadn't shattered upon impact with the table.

"Well, you don't have to..." She relented. "But I would like to know. I've always been curious."

He watched her intently for a minute, seeming to look into her eyes for some sort of truth and sincerity that she knew was there, before he sat back and sighed, flicking his hair out of his eyes. "My mother died when I was seven. She was beautiful woman," he said and Tifa noticed the wistful tone to his voice and smiled, "and she was innocent. But my father, the bastard, played on her innocence and her kindness. I don't know how she died." He said with fire in his eyes. "I don't know how for sure, but I wouldn't doubt the toad of a man she married had something to do with it.

"And my father... Where to begin?" He chuckled darkly. "He always told me, growing up, that the Shinra men never cried, never bled. He beat it into me and perhaps, maybe, that was why my mother always got his resentment thrown into her face. She was an emotional woman," he looked down into his drink as he said this, trying to remember her face and her smile. "I was an emotional boy." He grinned at that. "Bet you can't see that, can you?"

Tifa shook her head, smiling sympathetically. "No, I can't see that at all."

He sighed. "Well, you have my father to blame for that. He tried to beat everything into me, and he succeeded. His business, his ways... Everything. I hated him, growing up and several times I wished I could have done what Sephiroth had managed to do... But I don't think I could have."

Turning her hand in his, she gave a gentle squeeze; she understood. "He was you father, if nothing else."

"A damned horrible one. I tried so hard not to become what he was..."

"You haven't." Tifa assured him and he looked at her a little speculatively. She nodded. "I'm not lying -- you're different from him. I never knew him, I know, but from what you've just told me... You are total opposites." She smiled when he looked up at her and tried to move away from the difficult topic. "So I guess that's it? You were an only child?"

"I was." He nodded.

"So was I."

"So many people think it's easier to be an only child..." He shook his head. "I'd say it's harder."

"Yeah, it is. When something happens you've nobody to turn to. When my mother died... My father was grieving himself and he couldn't bring himself to help me for a long time. I had nobody I could really trust, who understood, to turn to. With a sibling, I think it might've been easier for me."

Rufus' eyes lit up. "Exactly."

"See," she grinned cheekily. "We have things in common."

"That we do." He said, looking down at their interlocked hands. She blushed a second time.

He laughed. "Does it really bother you so much? Or..." He sidled closer to her. "Is it something _else_?"

'Remember to breathe Tifa, remember to breathe...'

"It's _nothing_."

She congratulated herself on her evenly held voice.

* * *

"Come on, Rufus!"

"Why? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"With what?" She growled, snatching the remote out of his hands. Scowling, he sat up and grabbed it from her.

Almost.

"You know I'd kick your ass." Tifa said, her hand gripping the electronic device tightly, looking back and forth from Rufus' hand directly below hers to his face. Upon which was laid one of his insatiable smirks.

"Oh really?"

"Really."

And before she knew what he was doing, he was straddling her, his hand still gripping the remote and trying to get her to let go of it. She narrowed her eyes. "This is entirely unfair." Her body wasn't shaking, but hell, she couldn't stop herself from shaking for much longer.

"Is it?" He pushed her hand back, taking hold of her other arm and doing the same; she was trapped for the moment. Bending over her, he began to trail kisses along her neck and collarbone, the asshole knowing _exactly_ what he was doing. "Let go of the remote, Tifa..." He murmured and she only just barely heard him as she was off in her own little world of happiness. Steeling herself, she moved her fingers slightly, never once relishing her grip to dig her nails into his hand. She heard him hiss in pain, but to her dismay he only sat up to look down at her.

"You're going to have to do better than that." He informed her.

Gritting her teeth, she put all of her strength into her next movement; she forced the entire left side of her body upwards and over, trying to get him under her instead of the other way around.

They, instead, fell right off the bed.

With a scream of shock from Tifa and a grunt of pain from Rufus once his back connected with the floor, the fell into a tangled mess of limbs. Taking the opportunity presented to her, Tifa grabbed the remote from Rufus' limp hand as he tried to recover and shot her arm up into the air with a winner's hoot. "I win, come on Rufus, get up, we have to go out now. I have something to show you!"

Grasping the man's arm, she hauled him up off the floor and waited until he regained his bearings. Muttering, he glared at her. "We were out all day. Do you have some sort of affixation for the people outside, because by all means, go out and mingle with them!"

"I would like to show you something, now stop being a bastard and move it!"

"Feisty."

"Rufus..."

Sighing, he gave in. "Fine, let's go." Under his breath, he added, "this had better be worth my time."

"I heard that."

"Of course you did."

* * *

In front of them lay a huge expanse of sparkling water, the moon's reflection glowing brightly in the middle of it all, illuminating everything around them with a silky glow. Tifa sighed, listening to the waves crash as she walked towards the water's edge, slipping out of her shoes and wading in. "Aren't you glad you came now?"

They'd walked and walked and walked, through the town, the forest, encountering fiends that were easily dispatched... It was worth it, though. It looked as beautiful as Tifa thought it would and she wished she could just stay there forever. It was peaceful and it filled her with a calm sense of relief that such a place could really exist in the world. Looking over her shoulder at Rufus, she could see him looking up at the stars contemplatively.

You sure didn't see that in Midgar. There were thousands of brilliantly blinking stars looking down upon them.

"Wow." She added as an afterthought.

"When did you find this?" Rufus asked, curious, watching her back.

"Oh," Tifa shrugged. "It was just a thought I had earlier, to come and see what it was like. I figured it would be more breathtaking at night, though."

A gentle wind swept through, rustling the tree leaves and their hair, cooling them. There was still an exhausting heat in the air and the breeze was welcome.

"I'm surprised you found it. I've never seen anything like it before."

"I know." She nodded. "You can never get these kind of views... Rarely, anyways. I can only think of two places you might find something like this just waiting to be enjoyed... Nibelheim and Costa Del Sol."

Just talking about Nibelheim brought up the memory of the night that looked exactly like this so long ago... Ironic how she was here and with a man whom also had blonde hair... Though not as spiky.

She was surprised when Rufus brought it up.

"You never told me anything about yourself, earlier. I noticed it was kept to me and only to me."

Tifa smiled. "Yes, well, too bad you didn't notice that before now, huh?"

A moment a silence and then, "what's this I hear about a promise under the stars?"

Her first thought was how he knew. Secondly, why he would ask. "How do you know about that? You and Cloud haven't been conspiring behind my back, have you?" She joked.

"You were talking in your sleep, actually and that was something that came up."

Scowling she turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. "I do not talk in my sleep."

"I beg to differ. After all, unless you have been recording yourself when you've been sleeping, you wouldn't really know, now, would you?"

Sighing, she relented, but turned around so she wasn't facing him. "Cloud and I... He was going off to the military... Shinra, of course and I'd only just found out a little while before he was planning to leave. We'd never been close, but I'd always watched him and had grown to like him... In many ways." She laughed lightly. "I didn't want him to leave, really. I decided I wanted to get to know him, but I knew he'd never back out of it, so... I asked him to promise me he'd always be there for me, come back for me... Be my hero. It was a silly girl's crush and a daydream. He said he would, though..." She shook her head. "That's all, really. Nothing too big."

"He meant a lot to you. Not just then, but after and now." He was standing beside her now, looking at her and waiting for something; a particular answer.

Closing her eyes, she sighed. "Yes. He did. He does. But we can't go back to that now... He kept his promise."

'And now I have to keep my own promise -- to build a life for myself and my children. To leave Cloud behind.'

* * *


	27. Sparring

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty Seven - Sparring_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Tifa couldn't imagine having gone to a more beautiful spot last night -- Mideel was just full of little treasures, though, she soon realized. She'd been quite lucky, she surmised, finding gil on the ground, seeing little children running around happily with the cutest smiles on their faces (which absolutely lit Tifa's heart up) and being involved very emphatically with the rest of the small town. Each and every day she was filled with more incentive to stay in this quaint area filled with a tangible friendliness. Nothing seemed to go wrong here and she looked upon it all with something akin to peace and... Pride. They had really outdone themselves, these residents.

They'd made a life and livelihood.

'If only other cities could have done the same.' Tifa thought coyly, snorting at the images that would never be a reality that flew into her very much open mind.

She and Rufus has returned to their hotel room shortly after their conversation at the water's edge. Tifa had been eternally pleased by the fact that he'd been so awed by her discovery, finding it just as beautiful as she had.

'Cloud wouldn't have thought so. Not unless it was suddenly Aerith's new resting spot.'

She nearly choked; how could she have thought something so, so... So vile!

'But it's true. That's what you really think, anyway, I mean, who denies themselves their thoughts?' She thought, her mind racing against her heart. 'Who can hear you, anyway, honestly?' Closing her eyes, she dearly hoped and she madly prayed that Aerith could not hear her -- or, if she could, that she could forgive her. Bitter was the taste of her heart at the moment and it had been for a while.

Removing her gaze from the watered down yards of chattering neighbours, she found herself lingering on the hospital. She'd just been there, to see Elena. She looked no better, but no less peaceful. As long as her friend couldn't feel the poison and what it was doing to her body, Tifa felt just a little better. She knew the Reno and Rude would not come back empty handed. If anything, they might come back with more than just dragon grass, but all kinds of possible remedies they could scrounge up.

She's left the hospital and with it Rufus, who had wanted a little more time alone with Elena. Understandable and so she'd left.

And now she was here and didn't know what to do with herself.

Cracking her knuckles absently, she wondered if she should give it a go with some fiend's outside in the forests, maybe some around the beach where it was more open and she could practice her more impressive moves... It took her a second to decide that she would and merely a minute to reach the edge of the town. She thought of leaving Rufus some sort of note at the hotel, but she didn't need his permission, nor his approval, to leave the town and to do as she pleased.

Letting out a deep breath, she started into a run. Feeling the breeze rushing exilhiratingly cool against her sun-warmed cheeks, her hair fanning wildly out behind her, her muscles pumping with neglected strength... She felt free.

Running had always been her escape; it did disappoint now.

She hadn't been running for very long when the first fiend jumped out at her. It flew at her from the left side and she kicked off the ground at the last second, the bared teeth narrowly missing her shoulder. She flipped expertly in the air and landed in a crouched position with little more than a nearly silent thud. Standing, she held her fists up in front of her, but hesitated -- magic or fists? Her magic had suffered, she was sure. The last time she'd cast anything, even a simple cure, had been back in the throes of battle with Sephiroth. Even when the three silver haired men had made themsevles known, she'd never once thought to use her reserve abilities.

She'd always had a talent for magic, especially in the fire and summons area. But she'd only grown so strong with Aerith's more than exceptional help. Tifa, awed by Aerith's knowledge and usage of the potent substance, had asked her to train her.

_"Of course I'll help you Tifa." Aerith said sweetly, winking, "But only if you teach me how to get stronger physically. I'm a hopeless case!"_

Silently concentrating and watching at the monster started to circle around her, waiting for it's opportune moment (something it would not be getting), Tifa could feel her veins pulse with power. Holding it within her, she felt it build and build, the heat consuming her.

_"The key is to let yourself become the fire... To will yourself -- or the fire -- to hit with all of your strength. Your," Aerith motioned to Tifa who was sitting in front of her, trying hard to follow and to learn. "_Your _strength. It is your strength you need to will into the attack."_

And when she released it all, watching the flames consume the dog in front of her, it's squealing of pain filling the air, she felt her strength leave her, all of it. She'd succeeded, not that she was surprised. Kicking off the ground she started to jump back and forth, rebounding off the trees and letting her thoughts take hold. She'd learned to harness the extraordinary power over the two year interval between the two battles for the world she'd participated and fought in, not really having anything better to do. She'd practiced and practiced and she could vividly remembered all of the blood, sweat and tears; the only thing that kept her going was the idea that this was all she really had left of Aerith.

The ribbon was not hers.

This power that she'd been given, that was Aerith and Aerith's alone.

And now it was hers.

* * *

Breathing heavily, she wiped the sweat from her brow and sat down on the sand-littered ground in front of the water. She'd been battling for a good hour or two and she was exhausted. 'You're obviously not as fit as you used to be.' She thought and chuckled wryly. 'Where the hell could Rufus be? Surely he didn't stay this long...'

But then, she hadn't exactly told him she was trumping off into the forest.

She started in surprise, however, when a second later his voice cut through the silence like a knife. "Finished?" He asked and the crunching of twigs and dead leaves got closer to her until she knew he was standing right behind her. Looking up at him she smiled.

"Finished. How long did you stay with Elena?"

"Only about fifteen minutes," he admitted. "It's hard to stay there and see her like that, knowing there's nothing I can do."

"I know how you feel. Well, we all do, really. It's not easy at all."

"No, it's not. But I doubt we're talking about Elena anymore."

He caught on quite quickly, she would give him that. There was just no tricking him. "When Cloud was incapacitated, I didn't know what to do. How could I possibly know what he wanted at the time? What if he was hungry, how would I know? Thirsty? I mean, you just don't know. And seeing him so lifeless..." She sighed. "I felt helpless, just seeing his dead blue eyes staring at me all the time. It was terrible. I don't think I would've made it for much longer had the group not come to see us when they did."

"Why was it you that stayed? Surely the others could understand your position?" Rufus asked, genuinely curious.

She smiled. "I was determined. I told them to go on without me. I wanted, _needed_ to be with him. I thought it would help us to connect, in a way... Even though he had no idea what was going on around him." She sounded wistful and she moved to correct herself. She didn't wish for any of that anymore. "And it really did help us to connect, in ways we never had before. But nothing else came of it. We understood each other better, we got closer... But not enough to sustain the relationship we both tried to build. We never managed to get any better and... We fell apart." She shrugged. "It is what it is."

"You've come a long way. You used to look lost..." He nodded, deciding upon something. "You've found yourself now. You're not so lost anymore."

"That's what it eventually comes to, doesn't it?"

He averted his gaze from hers, but he knew she was still watching his intensely. "Yes, it does. Everyone finds what they need to to move forward in time."

"We both have, right?" She was asking for confirmation of something... And suddenly it came crashing down upon him what he was really getting into. He was... He was getting closer to this woman sitting in front of him, baring himself to her, secrets and all. He was trusting her like he had no other in a very long time.

Was he really ready for this?

He felt enough towards her that he might want to try, that he might be able to start something with her...

But was he willing to give everything that was normal to him _now_, up?

"I don't know." He finally answered and that was the best that he could do. He could not and would not commit himself to someone, at least for the moment. Her face fell a bit, but she rectified it after a moment, trying to appear unaffected. She failed.

For whatever reason, he could read her like a book. Everything she did seemed clearer than normal to him.

After a stressful silence, she stood and turned to face him. "Spar?"

He looked surprised, but quickly his eyes darkened with another emotion. "Absolutely. But... Hand to hand combat or magic?"

"Combination of both."

Again, he looked surprised.

"Know I'll beat you into the ground?" Tifa taunted and he scoffed.

"You'll swallow your words soon enough."

Tifa gave him not time to think of what his first move would be, or even if he would have a first move; running at him with an unmatched speed, she jumped into the air and flipped, bringing her foot up under his chin, snapping his head back and knocking him backward a few steps. Landing, she ducked to knock his feet out from under him, she was disoriented for a second when she found only thin air and then felt an ice spell chill her to the bones.

"You play dirty, Lockheart." Rufus tutted, throwing his shirt to the ground.

'Bastard,' Tifa thought. 'He knows that that chest gets to me the way it does...' She laughed internally. 'Wow, bad thoughts.' Concentrating again, she calculated the amount of trees surrounding their battlefield. 'Enough.' She decided and ran at him once again; anticipating a straight attack, he dodged, but he spun back around too slowly and she kicked him to the side, flipping over him and kicking him in the other side, forcing him back and forth. Grabbing his arm, she threw him as far as she could towards to forest.

He landed, crouched and jumped for her.

They started throwing volley's of punches at each other, neither finding a break and managing a hit. Irritated, Tifa quickly dodged out of the way and somersaulted out of the way of a well-placed kick, jumping up into a tree.

She heard his muttered curse and chuckled silently. She hadn't lost her touch after all.

She got her opportune moment when she saw him close his eyes and remain perfectly still -- served to her on a platter. Quickly jumping to the next tree, she continued in an effort to confuse him as to her whereabouts, not that it looked like he was paying attention. Eventually, she broke away from the shield of the trees and aimed a foot at his stomach...

For the second time, her foot made contact with nothing.

Confused, she made to look around for him but was thrown into a tree with surprising force and hit her head quite hard; she found it hard to focus for a good minute or two, but she finally regained herself and found Rufus standing directly in front of her, his one arm propping himself up against the tree and the other laid across her neck gently.

"I told you, didn't I?" He asked, cocky. "I'll take my prize now."

Leaning down he kissed her.

* * *


	28. Invitations

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty Eight - Invitations_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"You're not going."

"Well," Tifa said sweetly, shooting him a smile. "That's sweet and all, but you have no authority over what I can and can not do. Besides, you're not going alone. After what just happened, I would think you would be more careful, but I guess not." Picking up the white envelope that she had found pushed into the room under the door, she scrutinized the writing yet again. 'Rufus Shinra' was written upon with an artistic hand. Taking out the letter, she read it over once more. Scoffing, she threw it back down.

"I hardly need a babysitter, Lockheart." He said, reverting back to her surname as he usually did when he was annoyed. "I am flattered that you seem to want to cling to my side everywhere I go, but it is beginning to seem a little desperate." He teased.

"Sorry for caring about what happens to you." She retorted.

"It's just a simple dinner party..."

"From an anonymous sender. Right," she drawled. "What are you, an idiot?"

"This could very well be the thing that helps us find some important information."

"Yes. And?"

"And so I am going."

"Well, you have a willing date, so just take it!"

Sighing, he raked a hand through his hair. "You're nothing if not persistent."

"Why are you so against me going, anyway?" Having seen him walking around with a letter this morning and asking him what it was, he'd been overly secretive. Curious, she'd endeavored to find out what it was he'd gotten but after his reluctance and then flat-out defiance, she'd had to improvise in getting it away from him. "I mean, if it's just a simple 'dinner party' as you are so inclined to call it, what's the harm?"

"The fact that you could end up like Elena--"

"And you couldn't?" She snapped. "Please."

He shrugged. "Fine, can we stop arguing over this? This... Thing isn't even until tomorrow night, so we've time to decide what to do. Of course, it could be nothing, but I'd rather we be prepared."

She nodded absently, thinking over her earlier words. _"Sorry for caring about what happens to you." _He hadn't seem the least affected by her sudden admission and she wondered why. 'Perhaps because you've fooled yourself into thinking he might feel the same way.' She thought sarcastically, but with sadness.

She thought -- no, she _knew_ -- that she was... Falling in love with him. It was stupid, they hardly knew each other, but, being around him and seeing what he was like... He'd turned out to be so much more different than the man she used to think he was. He could be sweet and he could be caring and sensitive... Of course, then he could be a cold, sarcastic bastard, but wasn't everyone at one point?

She had nothing to complain about in regards to him; people were flawed. _She_ knew that.

But she didn't want to fall in love with someone who would beat her down. She needed to know he felt the same way... But she had no idea how to go about finding out. Did she foolishly ask him what he thought of, what they were to each other? Or did she wait and give them time to come together?

But what if she was just wasting her time? How could she take that chance, after all she'd been through with Cloud? She didn't want history to repeat itself, it had been hard enough the first time around.

_What was she supposed to do?_

"Tifa?" Rufus snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him, blushing at the funny look he was sending her.

"I... Sorry. I was just... Thinking." She answered airily, standing and stretching. "I think I'm going to go for a walk... I'll... See you later." Distracted, she grabbed her phone that she so desperately wanted to use right then and there and slipped past him and out the door.

She had a lot of thinking to do.

And talking.

* * *

She sat back against the rough tree in her newfound secluded area, breathing deeply. She wasn't sure that she should be doing this... Of all the people she could have phoned! But she knew that she would be given straight answers... And she needed straight answers.

Besides, it had been too long since they'd last spoken.

_"Yuffie the Great Ninja, at your service!"_ The young girl's bubbly voice came through the phone, bright and cheery and a little mischievous. Smiling to herself, Tifa said hi and listened as Yuffie started off on a babbling session. _"Oh my god, Tifa, today my cat, Spiffy, was climbing the wall in my house! The wall! Of course, being my cat, of course she would have such amazing powers. But no, that wasn't what you phoned for, was it?"_

"Breathe a little, Yuffs." Tifa laughed, instantaneously glad that she'd phoned Yuffie. She always had a way of cheering her up.

_"Right, sorry. What's up?"_ She schooled her voice, trying to sound as serious as someone of her caliber could. _"Need me to kick some ass for ya?"_

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something..." Sighing, Tifa shook her head, staring up at the blue sky filled with fluffy clouds and swirling birds. "It's... A very... I don't know how to say it. _Odd_ question, I guess. Yuffie, I..."

_"Spit it out already, Teef."_ Yuffie demanded exasperated.

Tifa laughed nervously, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. "You're going to freak out..."

_"Me? Freak out? Please... Gawd, freak out, as if..."_

"I think I'm falling in love with him, Yuffie." She finally said, letting the words tumble out of her mouth before she resolved not to say anything. Instantly, she felt as though a great big weight had been taken off of her shoulders. She trusted Yuffie to understand _him _as Rufus. It certainly wasn't Cloud and Yuffie was aware of that, for sure. The silence that had suddenly elapsed between then was taking it's toll on her and she began to doubt whether this had been a good idea.

Finally, she screeched, _"What!?"_

Tifa had to hold the phone away from her ear for moment to spare her poor ears. Sighing, she nodded even though she knew Yuffie couldn't see it. Quietly, she mumbled, "I _am_ in love with him, Yuffie."

_"Oh my god, in love with Rufus Shinra!? Don't you...?"_ She sputtered, obviously trying to understand. _"He tried to kill us! Tried to kill _you_!"_

"I know, I know and that was all I could think about when I first moved in with him and Elena, but... I don't know, I've gotten to know him and he's not as bad as we all thought he was, that the world tried to make him out to be."

_"Wow."_ Yuffie breathed, awed. _"I can't... Believe it."_ Quickly, she asked the same question bouncing off the walls of Tifa's mind. _"Does he love _you_?"_

"That's just it... Yuffie, I don't know! And I don't know what to do to figure it out. Do I wait? What if waiting is a waste and I'm dumped off to the side like so much garbage? Do I ask him? What do we mean to each other? I mean... I don't want this to be Cloud number two."

_"You can't keep comparing him to Cloud, Tifa. He's not Cloud."_ Yuffie informed her gently.

"I know, but I just... Don't want to go through that again. Cloud loved someone else... Rufus may not love me at all."

_"It's never easy, is it?"_ Yuffie chuckled, lightening the mood.

"No, it isn't." Tifa agreed. Yuffie always managed to come through for her, even though most of the time she was busy portraying herself as the immature brat who thought she was better than everyone else. But to Avalanche? Avalanche knew Yuffie through and through and she was most certainly not an immature brat. "Thanks for listening to me... I mean, it's not an easy subject."

_"Of course I'd listen to you, Teef."_ Yuffie declared loudly. _"I mean, as long as we weren't talking about that chocobo jerk, I was -- am -- fine!"_

"And so, how about you? Has Godo found you someone yet?" She asked sarcastically, filled with rage at the mere mention of his name. Godo had been on a rampage, trying to find Yuffie what he called a 'suitor' to marry her. She'd managed to evade the arranged marriage process for years, but he was in full father and emperor mode and Avalanche feared that they would not be able to protect her from him for much longer. Over the years they'd succeeded in pulling her out of the predicament by sending urgent messages saying that they needed her for something or another, but as time went on, nothing seemed to pop up for her.

They could lie, yes, but if Godo ever found out... He would never allow her to leave Wutai. Even with a full-grown daughter who was allowed to make her own decisions, he had a hold over her due to ancient empire rules.

_"Oh, who knows, Tifa? Gawd, that old idiot probably has some dumbass waiting next in line for 'love'."_ She sighed. _"More like money and power."_ She chuckled. _"So much for wanting me to be happy, huh?" _

"You haven't forgotten that vow Cid made, have you?" Tifa asked sweetly, grinning to herself.

_"To 'kill the fucking bastard himself'?"_ Yuffie mimicked Cid's angry fervor. _"Yeah, I know." _A pregnant pause. _"Anyways, Tifa, I wish I could talk more, but there's a bunch of stuff I wanted to do and I'd rather do it early than later."_ Cheekily, she added,_ "but you'd damn well better phone me once you make your sexual advance!"_

Despite herself, Tifa blushed. "Yuffie! No, I'm not going to--"

_"It might work."_ Yuffie informed her in a sing-song voice.

"It won't and I would never go about anything that way. I'll talk to you later."

_"Oh, wait! Barret phoned earlier and he wants you to phone him when you can. He sounded pissed."_

Tifa sighed and closed her eyes, lifting a palm to her forehead.

"Right, okay, thanks. I'll phone him now, don't worry."

_"Okay. Talk to you later, Teef, love ya!"_ Yuffie said cheerily.

"Love ya, Yuffs. Bye." Clicking the phone off, she rubbed her face tiredly. She had a feeling her next phone call was going to be what ruined this entire day for her and for a moment, she actually contemplated not phoning him at all, brushing it off for a while. But, no... It might be about the kids.

So, sucking it up, she dialed Barret's number and listened to the ringing in her ears as she wondered what on earth this could be about.

* * *

Her face was flushed with rage and he considered backing slowly out the room but then decided he wanted to know what was wrong -- and how he could fix it.

'You're hooked.' Or 'whipped', as Reno put it these days.

"What's happened now?" He asked, sighing dramatically.Shrugging his overcoat off, which he'd worn against his better judgement, he hung it up, keeping his back facing the troubled woman so he didn't feel the need to do anything he would define as _stupid_. "Correction," he added. "What have _you _done now?"

"It's not what _I have_ done, thank you. It's what _I haven't_ done!" She raged, standing and grabbing her phone that she'd left on the other side of the room. Flipping it open, she punched in Cloud's number and futilely waited for him to pick up; he didn't. She moaned in desperation and placed her hands over her face. "He took them, Rufus, he just waltzed right in with some story and took them!"

Rufus narrowed his eyes. "Sorry, who did what?"

"Cloud!" Tifa exploded. Taking calming breaths, she sunk down into a nearby chair. "The kids were staying with Barret, right? He works, obviously you know that, so he left the kids with a neighbor he's known for a long time -- she watches Marlene whenever she's over there... Anyways," Tifa shook her head, trying to focus. "Apparently Cloud went over to Corel and told the woman the kids were his, or at least Denzel was. The kids affirmed what he said and he took them off somewhere, saying he'd bring them back later."

Rufus was about to say something, but she went on a rampage again. "And you know, it would have been fine, had he at least told either me or Barret."

"I'm sure he'll bring them back when he said he would." Rufus reassured her, leaning against the wall.

"No, I don't doubt that. I just... I just wish he would take some responsibility. Sure, Denzel may be his kid and he can see him whenever he wants, but he needs to tell whichever one of us is watching over him so we know where they are, what he's doing. Marlene isn't even his, she's Barret's daughter, he had no right to take her and now Barret is ready to tear him apart limb from limb."

"I thought Avalanche was the peaceful party of the world?" Rufus snorted, genuinely surprised there was so much animosity towards Cloud within their group.

She didn't need to ask what he was getting at because she knew. Quietly, she told him, "It's my fault, really. He treated me badly and so everyone started treating him badly. It's not fair to him--"

"There you go again." Rufus rolled his eyes, his blood beginning to simmer.

"What do you mean?"

"Protecting him, again. He asked for everything he's getting." Rufus explained, preparing himself for another pointless fight -- but what could he do? He was sick and tired of seeing her stand up for the man who used her and shoved her off to the side like she was nothing. He really wished she could see Cloud for what he was; a fool who didn't know what he wanted out of life and more than likely never would.

He carried a lot with him and coming to terms with it all might never be possible for the young man, leaving him no future.

"I don't think this feeling will ever leave me, Rufus." She murmured and he was taken by surprise by the desperation and the grief in her voice. Looking down at her, he realized all at once how involved in her life Cloud really was; he made up a part of her and that would never change, she would carry it with her forever. "I don't think I'll ever be able to stop caring so much."

"There's a difference between caring and making up excuses to protect someone."

Tifa said nothing, knowing he was right. But she wasn't sure how to curb this affliction she had over Cloud, blaming herself for everything that had gone wrong in his life. She was his motivation in his earlier years, starting up the domino-effect of consequences that spanned across the years. How could she not blame herself? The once sweet and shy child she'd grown up with was now a guilt-ridden, dissatisfied soul.

"It's not something you can just think about letting go of and having it magically disappear."

"I know." He sighed, walking over to sit down in front of her on the bed. "And I know it's hard to do, but it _can_ be done."

"Speaking from experience?" She asked, curious to know where all of this was coming from.

He nodded. "I blamed myself for my mother's death. I thought that the fact that she had me and the way I acted towards her, made her act the same way towards me -- emotionally, cute and cuddly caring." He shook his head. "I know my father was the reason she died, whether it was the way he acted towards her because of what he saw her doing to me, not laying on all the rules and the coldness or..."

"But you know it wasn't your fault, right? I mean, there's no way that you could have..."

"I know that _now_. But before I didn't." His eyes darkened with an emotion she couldn't place and she reached out for him, grasping his hand in hers gently. "And you're in the same predicament, really."

She averted her eyes. "Maybe." She was unnerved by the way he was talking to her, the way he was acting -- it was welcome, but it was different and she wished it could be like this all the time.

'It could be like this all the time.' She thought.

"Thank you." She whispered, suddenly feeling foolish and all too vulnerable; and unbidden tears came to her eyes, a combination of her confusion over Rufus, her anger at Cloud, the sadness she'd been harboring over her friends she hadn't seen in a long time...

He took her by surprise when he pulled her forward into his arms, hugging her and rubbing her back soothingly. "I'm only doing this because that's apparently 'what friends do'." He told her, chuckling a little bit. She laughed back at him, not really feeling the humor in the situation but not wanting to send him the wrong message that she didn't appreciate what he was doing for her.

He was leaving his comfort zone of indifference and entering a new and foreign world of feelings and what more could she ask for? It was a step in the right direction, but as she sat there, slowly wrapping her arms around his waist, his words wouldn't leave her mind.

_"I'm only doing this because that's apparently 'what friends do'."_

And was that it? Was that all that there was waiting for her with this man?

It _could_ be like this all the time.

'But how will you know?'

* * *


	29. Slipping Up

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Twenty Nine - Slipping Up_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Oh my god, Reno." Tifa laughed. "What did you do? Throw yourself into a nearby hole and find dragon grass? You're back so soon."

Reno scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head a little to get his long red hair to fall back over his back. "Throw myself into a hole?" He shook his head. "It's not like we didn't have the equipment and shit to get to where we needed to go. Finding it was almost too fuckin' easy, though."

"Well, I knew you'd be able to do it." Tifa smiled, thinking of Elena waiting in her hospital room for them. "So are we going to head off now...?"

"Well, _we_ are. You and your boyfriend can follow whenever you want." He smirked when her features contorted, leaving her glaring at the man in front of her. "What? I've seen the sly looks and the _hormones_! Just find yourself a bed and get it over with already." He said, walking away down the hall. Rude, who had been standing silent as ever at his side, watching the exchange between the pair, followed after him.

"Buddy, no." She heard Reno talking to Rude before she shut the door with a soft click. Sighing, she hung her head and ran her hands through her hair.

Wasting no time, she made her way around the room, grabbing everything she needed, eating the rest of the breakfast she'd been enjoying before she'd been interrupted by the ex-Turks and finally, after fifteen minutes, she was out the door and on her way. She was both excited and fearful of heading to the hospital; if the dragon grass worked, Elena would be up and walking and the tension that she could feel radiating off of her companions would lessen, if not completely disappear and they would be leaving Mideel, getting back to their lives. However, if it didn't work, she wasn't sure what was going to happen to her said companions or what they would do next.

'Such terrible thoughts,' she scolded herself, pushing the glass doors forward and entering the sterile-smelling facility.

She didn't need to be directed any longer to where Elena's room was, she'd been here often enough to know her way around. Closing the door, she watched with a slight hesitation as Reno, Rude and Rufus, whom had left her a note earlier this morning saying he was coming here, and the doctor conferred with each other.

"Dragon grass is safe for humans?" Rufus asked the doctor, the same question he'd asked upon the day they got the results of Elena's case.

The doctor nodded. "It is not safe being ingested as it is, but as I said last time, with some testing and some modifications, it will cause Miss Elena no harm whatsoever. Now, if you will excuse me... We mustn't waste time." Turning on his heel, he left the room, shooting Tifa a soft and reassuring smile as he passed by her.

"She doesn't look much different." Reno sighed, situating himself on the stool beside her bed.

"Of course she doesn't, Reno." Rufus said, rolling his eyes. "She can't exactly freshen herself up everyday."

"Haha." The young man replied sarcastically. "You know what I mean."

The momentary silence gave Tifa time to walk up to stand with the group without feeling as though she was intruding upon a private moment and conversation; not that staying silent on the other side of the room and listening to everything being said was any better.

"It should work..." Tifa thought aloud. "And then we can finally see her run around, smashing Reno's head in with a frying pan when he makes her angry."

Nobody made any remark to her comment, simply feeling better to just sit in peace, waiting for the doctor.

They'd been sitting and waiting for over an hour before the doctor finally came back with a syringe, walking right over to Elena's IV line and sticking it with the needle, emptying it's contents into her system. "I doubt we'll see a change until later in the day... You may stay if you like, but it will be a while and if you decide to leave you can just leave your numbers with the nurse and she'll call you as soon as we see a change."

Reno looked reluctant, as did Rude and they decided they would stay; they had nothing better to do, except maybe get drunk, but they didn't want to take the chance that they might miss the call. Tifa was surprised then, when Rufus stood up and announced that he had somewhere to be.

'The invitation -- the dinner party.' Tifa thought and she herself stood, looking over at Elena and her two friends sympathetically. "I'm afraid I have somewhere to go as well... But Reno, please, _please_ call me, okay?"

Reno was instantly suspicious. "Where are you two going?"

"I have something that needs to be taken care of." Rufus answered.

"It's nothing too important, but I don't want to delay doing it, I'm sorry." Tifa said at the same time, glaring at Rufus when he rolled his eyes.

"Bye." The pair said simultaneously, not wanting to be badgered with more questions to stop their departure. Closing the door behind them, Tifa sighed but she didn't have time to do much else before Rufus was jumping down her throat.

"I told you I didn't want you to come with me. Is one simple instruction really so difficult to follow?" He scowled.

Tifa sniffed and started to walk away. "Sorry _god_, I forgot you run the show around here. Please," she mock pleaded, clasping her hands in front of her. "Tell me what to do now, I'm so lost without your guidance."

"Nice, but you have some work to do." He teased, though with no humor.

"I believe that in our last conversation, we established that I was an adult. You know what that is, right? Exactly the opposite of what you are being right now. Why," Tifa raged, throwing her hands in the air, "would I let you go alone? And really, aside from the fact that I myself could be poisoned based on your paranoia about Elena's unfortunate situation, not to mention it actually happening to yourself, what else is there at a bar that's so bad that I'm just not allowed to go? You do remember I actually own a bar of my own, right?"

"Remember the last time you visited a _bar_?" He snapped, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him.

_"Tifa..." He started but she twirled around to face him and all but fell against him. She pressed herself up against him completely and smiled as best she could, a strange sparkle in her eye. He had no choice but to hold her upright and that only served to bring her up closer to him._

_Strange... He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he enjoyed it. Not like he would with other women..._

_No, this was different._

_Of course, seeing her so out of it only put him off wanting to..._

_Stop it._

_Before he knew what was happening her face was inches from his and she laid her head against his chest. "You mean a lot to me... You know that?" She whispered, lifting herself up as best she could and kissing him full on the lips._

Tifa pushed the memory back and shook her head. "I was... Out of control that night." She said, rubbing her arms absently.

"And if it happened tonight? And I couldn't do anything to stop it, seeing as how you're an adult, so, what? I'm hardly going to say 'yes, Tifa, please come tonight so I can babysit you.'"

"One night hardly counts to label me as needing someone to watch over my every step!"

"Sorry for actually giving a damn. I mean, I know how much you're used to Cloud and his oh-so-caring personality, maybe I should just become a carbon copy of him."

Tifa stopped cold in her tracks, disbelieving that he'd actually just said what he had to her. She knew it was true though -- he had made it clear several times during their conversations that he was only interested in looking out for her. Sure, he teased her endlessly, but she returned it all jubilantly enough. They insulted each other to such a degree one might wonder why they stuck around each other.

She supposed she should be grateful for the concern.

But she was more offended by it and wanting to show him and everyone else who thought she could rely on nobody but Cloud, think of nobody but Cloud, devote herself to nobody but Cloud that she was capable of taking care of herself.

"I don't know how we went from one subject to another completely different one..." She blew out a breath, shaking her head. "I'm coming with you because I want to make sure that you're going to be okay, the same reason you don't want me to come. But what use is it if what you're scared is going to happen to me happens to you and there's nobody around but a bunch of drunk idiots?"

He didn't grace her with a response, instead fixing her with an intense stare that caused her to wonder if he could read every thought in her head.

"And are we really going to keep coming back to Cloud? You keep throwing his name and the baggage that lies behind it in my face every chance you get when he isn't even a part of the problem."

He looked troubled then, almost scared, unsure of what to say to her next. Why was he being like this? Why was he like this every day, finding every excuse possible to bring up the past with her and Cloud, to constantly hint at their growing relationship. Why was he so evasive of her questions that were filled with more than the simple words used to make them?

_Why didn't he want her to go?_

"I don't buy all that bullshit you just tried to feed me about needing to babysit me since we both know that that isn't the case. There was a reason I was upset and drinking a lot back in Costa Del Sol and it led me to do something I wouldn't normally have done under the circumstances. So," she paused, stepping closer to him. "And I want honesty here, you owe me that courtesy, okay? Why do you really not want me to go?"

A myriad of emotions seemed to flicker through his eyes but he settled for the resolved and detached look in the end and her heart fell to her feet when she realized she was never going to know why he didn't want her to go.

'Why can't this just be cut and dry? I love you... Do you love me?'

"Fine, if you want to come so badly, you can. But watch what you're doing." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away from her, in every sense of the word.

At least, that was what it felt like.

* * *

"Whatever happened with Strife?"

The first words he'd spoken to her since they'd arrived at the party and they weren't what she'd been expecting. Focusing her eyes elsewhere, she shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "He called me and we talked... He said he wouldn't do it again. What more could I say to him?"

The 'party' was not exactly a party at all -- more like a big get-together-and-bitch-about-your-problems night. Which was what had happened. It was a closed event, meaning that only invitee's could get in but apparently both Rufus and Tifa's thoughts about what could possibly happen were ill-placed. They had been drinking for over an hour and nothing out of the ordinary had happened yet; Tifa's guard was slowly falling as she decided this was nothing more than what it seemed.

Whatever that was exactly.

"Something more than what you may have said to him."

Tifa closed her eyes and counted to ten, trying to douse her growing temper.

"Sorry, touchy subject?" He queried, gazing at her with nothing short of irritability. His hand was clenched around his glass so tightly she was surprised it hadn't yet shattered within his grip.

"Yeah, I was about to ask you the same thing." She shot back. "Why are you being so miserable?"

"Why are you so hung up on him?" He wondered aloud. "I really don't get it. I don't." He waved his hand that was holding the glass around in the air for a moment before bringing it back to his lips and taking a gulp, throwing it back down on the counter and asking the frumpy looking bartender for another.

"Who said I was hung up on Cloud?"

"Are you?"

Tifa watched him curiously. "And if I said I was, what would you say?"

"I would say you're a damn fool. You deserve a lot better than someone who thinks you're nothing more than a little dirt on his shoe." He spat with venom, snatching his glass that was just refilled back, taking another mouthful of it. Tifa was beginning to wonder if she should take it away from him.

And he said that _she_ would need a babysitter?

Ever since they'd gotten here he'd fallen into a foul mood, especially at the lack of information that could tell them anything about what happened to Elena. He'd slipped further and further into it as he drank more and more, not looking to stop anytime soon and for the first time she wondered if he maybe felt threatened by Cloud.

But what would that mean on a greater scale?

Why did he feel threatened?

"Rufus, I'm not hung up on Cloud." She said to him quietly. She tried again after seeing that his dark expression didn't change. "I admit that it's been really hard to put him behind me... But of course it was, Rufus, he and I had known each other for years and I've never been as close to anyone as I had been to him."

"You don't need to explain anything to me as if I might care." Rufus cut her off. "I just wanted to know if you were still pining after him."

Narrowing her eyes at his indifference, feigned or not, her mouth started working before her head could process the words properly. "I do not and did not pine after Cloud, Rufus. I don't love him anymore."

"Oh? I'm not the only one who thinks you still hold a torch for Strife." He smirked lazily, not caring if he was hurting her in any way. "The way you talk about him as though he's some great man when he's nothing but a lost little puppy..." He chuckled darkly. "It's pitiful, pathetic, degrading... Don't you think anything of yourself!?"

"Of course I do! I'm so sorry I'm not moving forward at your damn pace!" She yelled.

"You're right, you aren't. It's a shame."

Everything in her screamed at her to stop while she was ahead, to assess the situation because she was missing something vital at that moment, but she didn't. She couldn't. "Oh, and where exactly should I be right now?"

His eyes hardened with determination and just a little fear and she could almost see the gears turning in his head as he wondered if he should say what was so obviously on the tip of his tongue.

The question she'd asked not only herself, but her friends, finally had an answer.

"Moving on with someone else. Trying to. Not running away."

"And who might that be, _you_?" She scoffed, laughing at nothing in particular, just feeling the need to do so. She could feel the prick of tears in her eyes and she wondered why fate was so cruel to her -- would she ever get a god damned _chance_? Her voice sounded no less than throaty, choked up with the tears that had just now started to trail down her cheeks. Standing, she asked him, "what is such a shame, Rufus? That I'm not in love with you?" By now, they had quite an audience within the bar and everything was silent.

He only stared at her, offering her nothing.

And that hurt more than she ever thought it could.

Choking back a sob, she shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "No, you know what's such a shame, Rufus?"

'Don't hold it in like you did with Cloud -- that might end up being your biggest mistake.'

"That fact that you can't see that I am in love with you."

And then she did exactly what he had accused her of.

She ran away before she could have her heart crushed all over again.

* * *


	30. To Heal a Broken Heart

**To Heal a Broken Heart**

_Chapter Thirty - To Heal a Broken Heart_

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She was running blindly; away from Rufus, from her feelings, from the humiliation and devastation she knew she would soon be feeling so deeply she wasn't sure she'd be able to get past it. She should have just walked away, what in the hell had she been thinking telling him that she loved him!? Now not only did he have the satisfaction of getting to her, but he had the lethal information that he could use to further make her miserable.

But, she thought, she didn't really think him capable of that. 'No, that was something I might have thought he would do... A long time ago. Not anymore. He's not that man, I know that now.' And it almost made it worse, she thought -- to think he wouldn't acknowledge what she felt towards him. Maybe he'd pretend he'd never heard it and maybe he'd spare her the visible and verbal rejection and just leave her alone.

Her heart was already breaking.

She hadn't even given him the chance to respond because she felt sure she knew what he would say to her.

But she would never really know.

Fumbling and trying to see through the tears, she pulled out her PHS and leaned against a large tree in the forest she'd subconsciously ran into. She felt calm here, at peace -- at least, she used to. Nothing could stop the furious beating of her heart, the sputtering sobs she was trying so hard to hold back, all the while trying to convince herself she was okay.

Pressing the familiar button, she sagged and waited, listening to the sound of the dial tone lifelessly. She felt numb and she had to force herself to respond to the gruff voice on the other end. _"Yeah, what the fuck do ya want Yuffie? I told you not to--"_

"Cid?" Tifa gasped, failing in her resolve to keep her voice level.

Silence.

_"Tifa, what the hell happ--"_

"Can you please come and get me?" She cried, rubbing her face with her hands. The tears seemed to be endless. "I can't-- I need to get away from here now, away from him, please come and get me." She sounded feeble and scared, but she didn't care. Cid was one of her best friends, like a father to her. But she would be inconveniencing him, she really shouldn't be doing this. No, she would wait. Besides, Elena was here, she was in Mideel for her and she really shouldn't leave... "I'm so sorry for asking this, Cid, I'm sorry, never mind--"

_"Where are you? Mideel?"_ He cut her off, not standing for her sudden change of heart. She sounded like hell and a half and if she wanted to get away from the bastard that she'd gone with, whom he was beyond sure was the cause of her current state, he was getting his ass down there as fast as he could.

Her voice went quiet as she started to fully comprehend her situation. She became calmer and calmer until, finally, she felt tired and about ready to fall asleep from the emotional turmoil she'd thrown herself into head-first. "Yeah, Mideel." Coughing lightly to clear her throat so she didn't sound so stuffed up and throaty, she continued to apologize for bothering him.

_"Don't be sorry, I'll be there in an hour at the least. And then,"_ he said sternly, almost angrily,_ "you'll tell me what he did to you."_

Tifa couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of the situation. "Okay Cid. Thank you."

* * *

Tifa went, against her better judgement, to Elena's hospital room. She was positive that both Reno and Rude would be there -- she didn't know where Rufus might be. He was drunk out of his right mind and he may have wandered here knowing it was where his friends were, but she wasn't sure. Did she bother to take the chance? Of course. If Elena was still asleep, she would feel better about leaving as long as she'd seen her first. If she was awake and she left without going to see her, she would feel terrible afterward, she knew she would.

And so, she pushed the elegant glass doors to the hospital open and walked inside the sterile-smelling facility, making her way through the route she'd taken many times over the last week and into Elena's room.

To her relief, Rufus wasn't there. Reno and Rude were, but they didn't say anything out of the ordinary to make her think Rufus had called or already been by.

"Did the doctor give her the antidote yet?" She asked, smoothing back Elena's blonde hair.

Rude nodded and Reno spoke for him. "He said he'd taken all of the 'necessary precautions' to make sure that the dragon grass was safe for ingestion by her... And now all we do is wait. Fuckin' long time so far." He finished impatiently, tapping his fingers idly against the handle of his nightstick. Rude laid back against his own chair and took off his glasses -- Tifa was in awe in that moment -- and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

She smiled appreciatively at the pair. "You guys are so good for her, you know."

"'Course we are." Reno shrugged. "Her life would be damn boring without us." He flashed a grin and Rude gave him a 'look' before he slipped his shades back on.

Silence passed between the three for a long time, Tifa wasn't quite sure how long. Eventually, though, she decided she needed to leave. Not only because Cid was on his way, but because she didn't need to be caught here in a hospital by Rufus where he could possibly tear into her. It wasn't the place and she was tired of that particular conversation about Cloud.

She didn't really even understand where his outburst was coming from; she was not pining after Cloud. She never had been, she'd simply let herself wait for too long. Sure, she'd let him take advantage of her kindness and her willingness to try not only for them but for the kids, but she'd always had a place in her head that constantly told her she didn't belong here, doing this over and over with him.

That part of her life was over and she'd done damn well to get past it in such a short amount of time. She'd slowly been shedding the old Tifa and becoming the new Tifa. The one who cared about herself and was trying to make a life for herself that was better for her.

Why couldn't he _see_ that?

"I..." She started, but stopped. What could she say to them? What should she say to them? "I called Cid a while ago... He's coming to pick me up any minute now. I need to get back to the kids... I'm sorry. When you guys are all home, I'll come by to see her and I'll be sure to phone her before that but I really need to go. It's not fair of me to leave them, or at least Denzel, with Barret, especially with everything that's been happening lately."

"We'll make sure to tell her." Rude said, surprising her. Tifa smile gratefully and nodded, standing.

"Thank you." She said.

"See ya, babe." Reno waved a dismissive hand in the air.

Rude nodded his head politely. "Goodbye Tifa. We'll see you in Midgar."

"We sure will." She grinned, stepping out and closing the door. She sighed, still feeling bad even though she'd come, seen Elena and explained why she was leaving.

'Perhaps because half of it wasn't even true.' She thought wryly.

But they didn't need to know the real reason and she didn't feel like telling them about it. She just wanted to get home, wherever that may be.

They had enough on their mind anyway.

* * *

The second she was on the airship, she had a barrage of questions thrown at her from Cid and, to her surprise, Yuffie.

"Ahhh!" Yuffie squealed, launching herself at Tifa. She was still the petite little ninja she had been the last time Tifa had seen her and she couldn't help but feel a fresh round of tears build in her eyes at the sight of the young girl. "Oh my god Tifa, it's so great to see you, I've missed you so much! We can't do this ever again, we need to see each other like, every week, okay!?"

"Okay, okay, I know... I'm really sorry, Yuffie." She muttered into the girl's shoulder. Laughing, she raised her head. Both Yuffie and Tifa stood hugging each other with one arm and held their other arm out towards Cid.

"Group hug, old man!" Yuffie giggled, her eyes shining similarly to Tifa's.

Cid rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing and chewing on the cigarette in his mouth. "Women." He shook his head. "You're all fuckin' crazy!" He said in reference to their near-crying state. But, when neither Tifa and Yuffie relented, his features softened just the smallest amount and he walked over somewhat reluctantly to them and joined in on the hug.

"Not a word of this to anyone, I'll or kick both yer asses." He sighed in afterthought. "Well, I'll kick the brat's ass anyway, because I don't think with Tifa it'd end very well."

"Hey!" Yuffie protested, but was cut off when Cid pulled back and stared at Tifa questioningly.

"So? What did he do?" He asked, taking in her disheveled appearance and her puffy red eyes that were in no way present simply because she'd seen him and Yuffie.

"Yeah!" Yuffie jumped in, punching the air several times. "Tell me so I can get him for ya!"

Tifa looked at them and wondered why she'd ever stopped going to visit them. How selfish and stupid could she have been? "Guys, no... I appreciate it, really, I do, but... I just want to leave, okay? I'll tell you everything on the way home. But no going to kick any ass and no saying anything to him. I just want to forget... It happened. I just want to forget about him for a little while."

Cid looked like he was going to shoot her down, but he sighed and raked a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated and ready to come to her defense against him, but accepting the fact that she wanted to leave it all alone and deal with it personally. "Fuck, fine. But if I ever see him..." He trailed off, decided that his threat had better be left open to options.

Yuffie shook her head and smiled sadly. "Tifa, I'm so sorry. I know..." She didn't say anything else because Cid was there, but Tifa knew she was expressing her sadness over Tifa losing out to another broken heart. "You'll get it right one day, you'll find it."

Tifa returned the gesture and clasped her hands behind her back, staring off into the distance in nostalgia. "I'm sorry too, Yuffie."

But she feared as much as loved the fact that she already knew she'd found the right love.

The right guy.

* * *

It had been a long week, one _very long week_. Cid had taken her down to Corel, where she decided to stay with Barret for an indefinite amount of time.

After telling Cid and Yuffie what had gone on in Mideel, Cid had been furious and ready to fly back to the small island but she'd asked him not to, insisting that it would be better for her, for him and, to herself, for Rufus that there be no more interference. He had agreed, but he'd been enraged and by now, Tifa knew that all of Avalanche was aware of the reason she was in Corel, fueled by the same anger coursing through Cid. She'd received phone calls from almost everyone, the most recent being Vincent whom had also relayed to her his condolences and willingness to help to put Rufus in his place.

Of course, it didn't drown out her regret and her depression over recent events, all of this catching up with her friends. She tried to sleep and instead found his face in her dreams or his voice in her head. She would be waiting for him to pop out of somewhere to randomly crack a joke to her or to teasingly insult her, something they'd both enjoyed doing with no hard feelings over what was actually said. She even sat down on the couch in front of the TV and picked up the remote in her hands, cradling it and envisioning all of their stupid little fights over something to frivolous as the TV station.

Yuffie, who'd also elected to stay with Barret for Tifa's sake, had found Tifa alone and crying several times at any odd time of the day. Tifa had sworn her to secrecy, to tell nobody, but now felt safer about dishing her feelings out to the ninja instead of being off somewhere alone and could be found less and less often moping over her life, instead trying to pick up the pieces with all of her feelings out on the table.

Slowly, things were falling into place. Her friends were back, her children were with her and she was getting ready to make the big movie from Midgar to a much more cleaned up and enjoyable place for herself and the kids. But where did she go? She knew she wanted to be somewhere that had transportation to many different areas when the need arose for her to travel out to Nibelheim or Rocket Town or Wutai... And there were many places she could go that would give her that kind of freedom. She also wanted the kids' approval because of the fact that they'd had to stay in a large city for so long that clearly was as undesirable to them as it had been to her.

But every time she thought of one of those places she could move to, she stopped herself from making the decision and decided to do it another time, telling herself she would be okay if she waited a little longer.

Rufus. She kept thinking about him.

And foolishly, she waited. She waited for that phone call or that appearance at the door to tell her he was sorry and that he'd made mistakes... That he didn't want to leave things the way they had.

She didn't want to leave Corel because she wanted him to come and drag her back to wherever he was so that they could move on with whatever they'd had going on between them.

But he hadn't called.

And he hadn't come racing to Corel to see her.

She didn't even know what he'd done after she'd left him alone in the bar. She'd called Reno and Rude several times, each having no information on Rufus. Thinking it might have been their protecting him, she turned to Elena who, to her delight, had awoken and fully recovered about three days after she'd left. But even Elena had nothing for her and so she knew that Rufus was being quiet about the entire situation, offering his three closest friends no details.

Maybe he didn't care. Maybe he never did in the first place.

Perhaps she'd been stupid to tell him; had she scared him off? Telling someone that you loved them... Was big. It was such a big change and such a big commitment.

Maybe he just wasn't ready for that.

* * *

Tifa was cleaning up for Barret, something that had become almost routine. It didn't matter how thoroughly she cleaned and how many times she told him to try and keep it clean, it became a mess only an hour later and there was as much to tidy up as there had been the first time she'd decided to rummage through everything he had stuffed away here and there.

She didn't see or hear Marlene saunter in the room with a mischievous gleam in her eyes until she finally cleared her throat. Tifa's head snapped around, caught off guard, but she smiled when she saw the little girl. "Marlene, hi. I thought you and Denzel were going--"

"He loves you." Marlene said, tilting her head.

Tifa froze. "What?"

"Mr. Rufus, he... Likes you. Loves you. So why are you here and he isn't?"

Tifa averted her eyes, turning back around to focus on something else. Sometimes she had to wonder where Marlene got these topics of conversation and how she seemed to know more than most people did. "It's not that simple, Marlene and really, it's between Rufus and I."

"I know." She nodded. "But... You cried. A lot. Because of Cloud."

Tifa felt saddened by her words, knowing that it was true and that she'd never hidden it from the kids as well as she should have. She hadn't made the same mistake this time, so she had to ask what she was getting at.

"You cried over Cloud... Because he wasn't gonna come back. But... Rufus will come back."

"And why would he do that?" Tifa sighed, putting dishes away and thinking that Marlene was rambling... About what, she wasn't sure. Yes, she'd cried over Cloud. She had known, she supposed, that Cloud would never come back and perhaps that was why she shed so many tears; because she knew she'd lost the love, if there had indeed even been any.

But she'd cried over Rufus, maybe not as much... But she hadn't told herself he was coming back. She honestly believed it was over and she was trying to move forward, trying not to repeat earlier mistakes. Was she wondering if she loved Rufus? Why her attitude and take on cleaning herself up was so profoundly different?

And so she was surprised when she heard the joking voice behind her, responding to Tifa's question instead of Marlene. "Because I wanted to see you again."

She was sure she'd never spun around so fast and when her eyes locked with a pair of icy blue ones, she knew she hadn't just been experiencing a very vivid and real sounding hallucination. He was there. Standing in front of her. Grinning as though everything was okay in the world. She was in such a state of shock she let minutes pass without a word being spoken. When she finally caught up with herself, the only thing she could say -- ask -- was what he was doing here, in Barret's kitchen no less...

Looking happy.

It hurt, she admitted. But she forced it down, determined not to turn into a blubbering child.

"Well..." Rufus started, but he stopped, eyeing Marlene pointedly. She smiled and jumped off her chair, racing out of the room without a glance back.

Leaving her alone with her nervous heart and the man who could either turn her life around or make her wonder what she'd even done by deeming him worthy of her trust and her affection.

"As I said and as you seem to be having difficulty understanding, I'm here to see you." His face was somber now, serious and her heart jumped into her throat as her palms started to sweat. She didn't want to do this, she didn't, she wanted to tell him to get the hell out and to spare her, but she stayed quiet, retaining an impassive expression and a relaxed composure.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Rufus." She shook her head, glad she could do something with her buzzing body, not content to sit still.

"Well then," he said, stepping closer to her until there was almost no space between them. He was too close, too close-- "Let's get straight to the point, shall we?" She didn't struggle against him when he cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her; she had no choice but to respond and with as much fervor as she could, because what if she never got the chance to do so again? But what if this was his way of getting to her only to let her down?

'I don't care...' She thought sadly. 'I don't.'

She wished the moment could have lasted forever, having him there, his hands on her neck and tangled in her hair... Feeling like she was the only living, breathing human being in the world that he could see.

But he broke away eventually and she squeezed her eyes shut, her hands fisted against his chest. "Don't do this to me Rufus, okay? I can't do this constant game with you, I won't, I don't want to..." She was going to cry, it was inevitable.

It became impossible with his next words.

"I've never been good at this." He started, his hands running up and down her arms. "In fact, I never have and I never will be. But I'm willing to try. I've only ever really loved four people in my life. My mother, those three idiots that are waiting for me outside... And you." When her eyes shot open in disbelief and hope, he nodded, smiling apprehensively. "Yes, you. I love you, Tifa Lockheart and I'm sorry for what happened at the bar. I was out of line..."

"Why did you do it?" She asked, stepping away from him and closing herself up to him, remembering all the pain he'd managed to make her feel, the anger and all with one single conversation. Hurt and shame flashed across his face, something new for him and she realized that he really was opening himself up to her in a last effort to regain her trust.

"I did it on purpose. I'd been wanting to for a while, actually. I've never been great at civil conversations, you should know, but I wanted to know what you would say. How you would react. If you felt the same way about me and I was positive it would work. And, well... It did. How like my father, right?"

Tifa opened her mouth to object at the stupid comment but he held a hand up to silence her. "No, it's true. It was wrong and I hated myself like never before for what I did to you. And I didn't know how to rectify it."

She looked down at the floor, at the wall, anywhere but at him and she tried to absorb everything he was saying. The emotion was building inside of her... He loved her. He'd just told her _he loved her_.

"I..." She tried, but she stopped. She was at a loss for words. She swallowed deeply. "I didn't know what to do either. I mean," she explained. "I didn't know how to... Find out how you felt. To tell you how _I _felt. I didn't want this to be another... Cloud situation. Where I gave and didn't get. Where I was left behind."

"I'm not Cloud." He reminded her.

"I know, but it's not that easy." She cried, digging her fingers into her scalp. Sighing in frustration, she couldn't help but laugh. "I'm so stupid."

"No." He shook his head, smiling. "_We're_ stupid."

"Yeah... You are." Marlene said, walking back into the room with and interested looking Denzel following along.

Tifa gasped with humor. "Marlene, no, you can't...!" She trailed off into laughter.

She sighed, as if it were such a task. "I know. Denzel knew, too, though, but he doesn't want to get in trouble for telling you."

Tifa's eyes filled with tears again -- god, she was such a bag full of twists and turns of emotions. "I'm really sorry. All of you. I'm so..."

"Ready to give up?" Rufus sighed. "So am I. Talk about difficulty when it could've been so damned simple."

"Yeah." Tifa all but whispered, feeling joy and giddiness sweep through her, watching him happily... Lovingly.

Rufus returned her look, though with much less outward emotion and leaned down to kiss her again.

Marlene and Denzel immediately erupted into a chorus of moans and protests against such an act being performed in front of their innocent eyes.

Rufus broke away and mock glared at them before breaking out into a smirk.

"Please, get used to it and quickly -- I'm not going to deny myself the pleasure of kissing your mother whenever I see her. Not anymore."

"I think I like the sound of that." Tifa giggled, trying to tell herself that she was going to be okay, that he was here to stay. It was difficult to listen to, but easy to see. He looked so determined, so ready...

She knew she had nothing to worry about.

And maybe that broken heart of hers might finally be healed for good.

* * *

**( AN. ) **_It's over, wow. I'm quite happy how I wrapped it up, actually. :D_

_I know some of you are going to tell me that this story had... Little romance. It may have, I don't know, I tried to make it so it had quite a bit. I may have failed. But I would like to explain to you the point of the story so you, maybe, hopefully feel better about the story and it's resolution should you be one of those people that are unsatisfied with the romance level._

_I wanted to show the struggle to actually get to the point where they could even begin to think of full-fledged romance. Both had been hurt in the past -- Tifa by Cloud and Rufus by the people around him as he grew up, most importantly his father. To get swept up in romance and the feeling of security, comfortable with everything around each other... I just don't see them doing that until it's established by both of them that there is something remarkably worthwhile to follow. And so we followed them through emotions and situations in which they were forced to admit some things, to run away from feelings... All to lead back to the point where they could say, yeah, I want this. I'm ready to follow this, to work on us and not give up. So them giving into lust and romance without reason to believe they wouldn't be hurt would have been entirely out of the question, at least with the characterization I chose to give Tifa and Rufus._

_And that's why, perhaps, there was less courting, less cute and fuzzy moments. _

_And hopefully you understand it the way I see it and can love the story for what it is... What it's become._

_I owe all my readers and most especially my reviewers a huge thanks. This story would have gone absolutely nowhere had it not been for the support I had and the constructive criticism. Just to know that someone was enjoying the story and found it interesting enough to have potential and to keep going made my day and I wrote this for all of you, not me. _

_I hope you enjoyed the story and are satisfied by the conclusion and the length. I know I've loved every moment of writing this and discussing the story with everyone who's stuck by me. Thank you. _

_♥_

_-Bree_


End file.
